LARAMIE, Wyo. (Nov. 15, 2017) – On Senior Night, the University of Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team topped the San Diego State Aztecs with a 3-1 (25-22, 27-25, 17-25, 27-25) win inside the UniWyo Sports Complex. The victory secured a second-place finish in the Mountain West for the Cowgirls. It marks the highest finish for Cowgirl volleyball as a member of the MW, and best since the 1989 season when UW won the High Country Athletic Conference. Furthermore, Lily Austin, Shelby Johnson, Laurel Place, Marley Taylor and manager Dominic Cancino were recognized prior to the match.
 
"Throughout the match I thought this team continued to compete tonight," Cowgirl head coach Chad Callihan said. "It's nice to know we have a team willing to fight. I always worry about Senior Night because it's so different than our regular routine. It's great to send this group of senior's out with a win. I'll digest the second-place conference finish later on, but we are well aware we have another tough match ahead of us."
 
Sophomore Halie McArdle and redshirt freshman Jackie McBride led the Cowgirl offense on Wednesday night. McArdle posted 14 kills, while McBride added ten for UW. Junior Reed Copeland totaled nine kills during the match, as sophomore Tara Traphagan and junior Emily Lewis had eight and seven, respectively.
 
Freshman Marissa Harmon ran the offense on Wednesday night. She had 44 assists for what was the 26th match of the season leading the Brown and Gold. Austin recorded a career-high 31 digs in what possibly could be her final match in the UniWyo Sports Complex. She is now three digs from becoming the eighth Cowgirl in UW history to record 1,000 in a career. Additionally, Austin, who has 97 career service aces, needs one more to crack the top-ten in program history.

Sophomore Madi Fields posted six digs on Wednesday evening. She passed Becky Stewart from sixth-place on the single season top-ten list for digs. Fields has recorded 413 digs during her sophomore campaign. McBride led the team with four total blocks, as Copeland, McArdle and Traphagan each added two for the Cowgirls.
 
 
Set One
The opening set was back and forth much of the way. Wyoming used back to back kills from Harmon and McBride to open up a two-point lead 15-13, before an SDSU timeout. The Aztecs would tie things up at 22 only to see the Cowgirls record the final three points for a 25-22 set win. McArdle posted four kills for UW in the opening set, as Harmon tossed out ten assists.
 
Set Two
Early in the second set was much like the first. There was 13 ties and four different lead changes in the second frame between Wyoming and San Diego State. A kill from Lewis followed by an attacking error from the Aztecs closed out the set in extras, 27-25 for Wyoming. Harmon once again led the charge with 13 assists, while Copeland threw down five kills.
 
Set Three
San Diego State opened the offense a little in the third set. Wyoming would call it's first timeout with SDSU up 11-7 and then its second after the Aztecs held a 17-12 lead. SDSU rolled to a 25-17 set win for the only true hiccup of the night for the Brown and Gold. McArdle had five kills after intermission, as Austin recorded eight digs.
 
Set Four
Wyoming and the tremendous atmosphere of the UniWyo Sports Complex pushed out to a 6-3 lead to force the visitors to call a timeout. The Aztecs would tie things up at eight and then use its final timeout with UW up, 14-12. It was back and forth until two attacking errors from SDSU gave the Cowgirls an 18-15 advantage. Wyoming would secure its second-place MW finish and a four-set win with a 27-25 victory. It was "Hammer Time" in the final set, as McBride and McArdle, a solid 1-2 punch for UW, each had three kills for UW in the final stanza.
 
Up Next
The regular season will conclude on Saturday for Wyoming. Its match at Fresno State will begin a 2 p.m. MT.