LARAMIE, Wyo. (Nov. 4 ,2017) – The University of Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team dropped its afternoon contest against Utah State on Saturday. Wyoming (14-12, 9-5 MW) earned a second-set victory but was unable to overcome the Aggies in four (22-25, 27-25, 19-25, 15-25) inside the UniWyo Sports Complex.
 
Sophomore Tara Traphagan was the lone Cowgirl to record double-figure kills during the contest. Traphagan led the team with 14, in addition to three blocks and three digs. Redshirt freshman Jackie McBride posted nine kills against the Aggies, as junior's Emily Lewis and Reed Copeland each added eight for UW.
 
Sophomore Halie McArdle brought home six kills during the match, while senior Marley Taylor chipped in four. Sophomore Madi Fields led the Brown and Gold with 13 digs, as redshirt sophomore Cori Aafedt recorded nine on Saturday.
 
Freshman Marissa Harmon once again led the Wyoming offense with 46 assists. Harmon, who also had six kills against Utah State, joined McArdle with seven digs for Wyoming.
 
Set One
Utah State didn't trail the entire first set on Saturday afternoon. The Aggies jumped out to a 10-7 lead and never looked back. A kill from Taylor brought UW within two, 22-20, but the Aggies closed out the set with a kill of their own. Traphagan led the team with four kills in the opening set, while Harmon tossed out 14 assists.
 
Set Two
McBride, Traphagan and Copeland each had four kills for UW in its winning set. Both teams kept things close throughout the stanza. It featured 20 ties and seven lead changes, but Wyoming prevailed, 27-25. A service error from Utah State gave the Brown and Gold set point before a kill from Lewis finished it.
 
Set Three
Three errors from Wyoming early in the third set helped USU climb out to a 10-5 advantage. The Aggies rolled from then on. They held leads of 16-10 and 20-15 before taking five of the last nine points. Traphagan once again led the squad with four kills as Harmon added ten assists.
 
Set Four
Utah State cruised to an 8-2 lead before Wyoming used its first timeout. Another Aggie kill moved the score to 13-8 in favor of USU, and prompted UW's final timeout. Utah State closed out the set on a 10-5 run for the four-set victory. Lewis led the Cowgirls with four kills in the final set.
 
Up Next
Wyoming will hit the road for two more matches next weekend. UW will visit San Jose State on Thursday before meeting Nevada on Saturday.