LARAMIE, Wyo. (Aug. 23, 2017) -- The University of Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team kicks off its 2017 campaign Friday, playing host to South Dakota, Abilene Christian and Portland in the Rumble in the Rockies tournament. The six-match event begins at 4 p.m. MT, as Abilene Christian and Portland face each other in the UniWyo Sports Complex. Wyoming will compete against South Dakota at 6:30 p.m. to close the first day of action. Saturday's matches will begin at 10 a.m.
As part of the UniWyo Friday Fan Day, fans can watch the Cowgirl soccer team against Southern Utah at 4:30 before the volleyball match against South Dakota. Following Friday night's match, fans are encouraged to then head to Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium for the showing of Disney's Moana.
"We had some nice individual performances last weekend," Cowgirl head coach Chad Callihan said. "It's now getting everyone more comfortable and making sure there is good chemistry going into this weekend. If you can get off to a good start, it springboards you towards the rest of the season. This group has clicked well and I've been really pleased and impressed with seeing a number of newcomers and young underclassmen step up into a leadership type role. If you can find a way to play relatively error free and clean in these first couple of weeks, you can find yourself picking up some nice wins."
The 2017 Cowgirls have ten letterwinners from last year's fourth-place MW team. UW went 18-13 overall and 11-7 in Mountain West play. UW was selected to finish fourth in the 2017 MW Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was released Aug. 16. It marked the third-straight season UW was picked to finish within the top four teams in the conference. Among UW's ten returning letterwinners are junior Reed Copeland and sophomore Madi Fields. Each earned MW Defensive Player of the Week honors at least once last year. UW has three seniors in Lily Austin, Shelby Johnson and Marley Taylor, three juniors in Copeland, Emily Lewis and Laurel Place, five sophomores with Cori Aafedt, Fields, Halie McArdle, Bayly Poor and Tara Traphagan and five freshmen with Kaytlen Freeland, Marissa Harmon, Marina Howard, Jackie McBride and Faith Waitsman.
The Opponents
South Dakota won its first Summit League title last year and was picked to finish second in the league for the upcoming season. Senior Brittany Jessen and sophomore Elizabeth Loschen were named Summit League Players to Watch. Jessen is a two-time Summit League Setter of the Year and is third all-time in USD program history with 3,743 assists. Loschen is the reigning Summit League Freshman of the Year, finished second on the team in kills last season, and helped the Coyotes to its most successful season in 2016. South Dakota returns ten players from last year's squad that went 25-7 overall and 13-3 in conference action. Leanne Williamson holds a 59-35 career record while at USD and enters her fourth season as head coach.
Abilene Christian was picked to finish sixth in the Southland Conference, as junior Jacey Smith was the Wildcats' lone selection to the Preseason All-Southland Conference Team. Smith was a second team selection a year ago and helped lead ACU to a 12-19 overall mark and 11-5 conference record. ACU has 11 letterwinners returning, which includes four starters. Head coach Angela Mooney is in her first season leading the Wildcats.
The Portland Pilots enter the 2017 season with eight returning letterwinners. Among those returning are four starters, which are highlighted by First Team All-West Coast Conference selection Hannah Troutman. Additionally, sophomore Cali Thompson was named a member of the All-WCC Freshman team last season. Brent Couch enters his fourth season leading Portland. After an overall record of 17-13 last fall, which includes a 10-8 WCC mark, Crouch has an overall career record of 40-51.
Series Information
South Dakota: (Wyoming leads 2-0) This will mark the fourth matchup between USD and UW. The series begin on Oct. 12, 2004 with the Cowgirls winning in five sets at home. Wyoming then swept the Coyotes on Aug. 27, 2011 (later vacated). On Aug. 29, 2015, the Brown and Gold swept South Dakota behind Copeland's seven kills and four blocks. Lewis posted five kills, three digs and three blocks, as Austin recorded three digs in the last matchup between the schools.
Abilene Christian: This is the first meeting between the Wildcats and Cowgirls.
Portland: (Portland leads the series 2-1) The last matchup was on Sept. 10, 2010 with UW taking a 3-1 victory (later vacated). Portland won the first-ever matchup in 1997, before Wyoming took a four-set victory on Sept. 9, 2000. Portland won in five sets on Aug. 31, 2007.
Non-Conference Tournaments
UW's weekend tilt in Laramie marks the first of back-to-back weekends hosting a non-conference tournament. The Cowgirls will hold the UniWyo Invite next weekend and welcome Eastern Michigan, Jacksonville and Purdue. On Sept. 8-9, UW will make its way to Malibu, Calif., for the Pepperdine Asics Classic before playing in the Oral Roberts Invitational Sept. 15-16.
