LARAMIE, Wyo. (Nov. 2, 2017) – Behind a balanced offensive attack and impressive defense throughout the match, the University of Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team won its fourth-straight at home on Thursday night. UW (14-11, 9-4MW) defeated Boise State in four sets (25-19, 21-25, 29-27, 25-19) inside an electric UniWyo Sports Complex. Before the match, senior Marley Taylor was awarded the Mike English scholarship. The scholarship is awarded annually to UW's senior with the highest cumulative grade-point average.
 
"The tone was set early thanks in part to pretty good defense," UW head coach Chad Callihan said. "Coming into the match we felt like we could score and Boise State has a prolific offense with a couple players that can lead them any night. I think we were spreading the ball around well. We're pretty balanced and it showed tonight. You can see this team is improving, that third set was important and carried us the rest of the match."
 
Freshman Marissa Harmon posted her team-leading seventh double-double of the season on Thursday night. She ran the offense with 45 assists, in addition to 15 digs. Sophomore Madi Fields once again led both teams with 18 digs, while senior Lily Austin chipped in nine. Austin also moved past former six-rotation standout Kayla Slofkiss for seventh all-time in sets played. Austin has now played in 430 sets for the Brown and Gold.
 
Offensively, three different Cowgirls posted double-figure kills against Boise State. Junior Emily Lewis led the way with 14, while redshirt freshman Jackie McBride threw down 13 for the Brown and Gold. Sophomore Tara Traphagan was the third Cowgirls in double figures, as she added 12 for Wyoming.
 
Junior Reed Copeland led both teams with seven total blocks on Thursday night. She now has 446 career blocks and moved into sole possession of fourth-place at UW. Copeland jumped Reese Plante, the current Assistant Director of Player Development in the record books. Lewis was second on the team with three blocks against Boise State, as Traphagan added two.
 
Set One
Boise State came ready to play in the opening set by taking the first couple of points. Wyoming had no problem earning those points back to tie the match at two. Despite a few ties later in the set, Wyoming never faltered and remained in control throughout. UW's biggest lead was seven, 20-13, before it closed out the match, 25-19.
 
Set Two
Wyoming took the first two points of the second set, before Boise State tied it at two. It was back and forth from then on out. Boise State stayed right in rhythm and held leads of 13-9 and 19-15 over the Cowgirls. The Broncos would go on to pick up their lone set, 25-21.
 
Set Three
In what was the most exciting set of the night, Wyoming prevailed with a 29-27 set win to take a 2-1 lead. Boise State opened the set with a 4-0 lead only to see the Cowgirls fight their way back to tie the set at five. Wyoming then jumped out to a 10-6 lead before the Broncos took five of the next six points. A 16-12 advantage for Wyoming forced a Boise State timeout, which then prompted the madness of back and forth scoring to begin. Neither team would hold a demanding lead after the timeout. Two-straight attacking errors from BSU gave UW the victory.
 
Set Four
Wyoming had a .333 attacking clip in the final set to help earn its ninth MW victory. Holding leads of 10-6 and 18-12, Wyoming seemed in control to close out the match. UW had an answer for everything in the final stanza and ultimately earned the 25-19 set win and the 3-1 victory over Boise State.
 
Up Next
Wyoming will be back in the UniWyo Sports Complex on Saturday afternoon for a matchup with Utah State. First serve is set for 1 p.m. MT.