TULSA, Okla. (Sept. 15, 2017) – The University of Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team dropped a four-set decision (25-10, 24-26, 22-25, 19-25) to Central Arkansas on Friday night. Sophomore Halie McArdle recorded a team-high 12 kills, for what was her third match of the season in double-digits, as junior Reed Copeland followed with ten kills in addition to a match-high eight total blocks.  
 
Friday's contest became the third match of the season for Madi Fields and fifth of her career with at least 20 digs. She recorded a team-best 21 in Tulsa. After leading the Brown and Gold defensively and now with 371 career blocks, Copeland moved into eighth place all-time. It was also the seventh match of her career with at least ten kills.
 
Junior Emily Lewis recorded nine kills for the Cowgirls (3-7 overall), while sophomore Tara Traphagan chipped in seven with five blocks. Redshirt sophomore Cori Aafedt once again led UW with 18 assists. It was one from her season-high. Redshirt freshman Jackie McBride was second on the team with seven blocks against the Bears (9-1 overall). She also recorded a couple kills on Friday afternoon, as freshman Marissa Harmon was one dig from her third-career double-double. She added 16 assists against the Bears. Both McArdle and senior Lily Austin recorded six digs for UW, while freshman Faith Waitsman posted career-bests of five total blocks and two kills.
 
Set One:
An assist from Harmon to Copeland right off the bat gave UW the first point of the match. With the defensive front making its presence early and after back-to-back attacking errors from UCA, the Bears called their first timeout with Wyoming leading 9-3. Wyoming cruised through the remainder of the set, holding leads of 18-9 and 22-11 before winning 25-11. Copeland posted four kills in the opening frame, with Aafedt recording five assists and McBride tallying five total blocks.
 
Set Two:
The Bears jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the second set before UW climbed back to even the score at nine. McArdle's sixth kill of the night moved the score 16-13 in favor of UW, which also forced UCA to call a timeout. Despite UW holding leads of 20-17 and 23-20, Central Arkansas took the second set by a score of 26-24. Lewis had four kills in the second set and Copeland had three blocks to lead UW.
 
Set Three:
The UCA offense was able break out in the third set. With a lead of 8-3 and then Central Arkansas holding a 14-9 advantage, UW called time. The Bears continued its rhythm until UW recorded four-straight to cut the lead to four, 22-18. A kill from McArdle moved UW within two, 21-23, as Central Arkansas called a timeout. Another kill from Copeland kept the UCA lead at two, but the Bears recorded the final point for the 25-22 win and 2-1 set lead. The Cowgirls offense was paced by McArdle with four kills, while Fields posted seven digs.
 
Set Four:
The fourth and final set went back and forth until UCA held an 8-6 lead. It was the first time in the stanza either team held more than a one-point lead. UW pulled within one, 13-14, off of a kill from Traphagan, but Central Arkansas would ultimately go on an 11-6 run to take the set 25-19 and the match 3-1. Copeland and McArdle each had two kills for Wyoming, while Fields once again had seven digs.
 
 
Up Next:
The Cowgirls are back in action tomorrow to face Tulsa at 12 p.m. MT before closing out the weekend against Oral Roberts at 7 p.m.