LARAMIE, Wyo. (Sept. 2, 2017) -- To close out the UniWyo Invite, the University of Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team split its matches on Saturday inside the UniWyo Sports Complex. UW came away with a four-set (23-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-13) victory over Jacksonville in its first contest of the day, before falling in five sets (25-18, 19-25, 25-22, 20-25, 15-7) and coming up just short against No. 21 Purdue on Saturday night.
 
"I really liked the way we started tonight," UW head coach Chad Callihan said. "We talk a lot about inconsistencies and how to better ourselves. They don't always hurt us as long as we learn from them. We took a tough loss last week against Abilene Christian, and looking back on today, I thought we came back and played a very similar match for two sets against Jacksonville. Then the light switch came on and we exploded at the end. That was good growth for us and we need to make sure we continue to do those types of things. We had a nice start against a quality opponent like Purdue. We knew it wasn't going to be easy. We'll get back into the gym and continue to work. I think this team understands that. We know we have our work cut out for us with three quality opponents this next weekend.
 
In the first match, the Cowgirls defense recorded a season-high 16 total team blocks in the four-set win. Junior Laurel Place, who posted a career-high eight kills, also led the team with ten blocks, with sophomore Tara Traphagan just one behind. Junior Emily Lewis posted a match-high 15 kills, while Traphagan recorded 13 for the Brown and Gold.
 
Sophomore Madi Fields added a career-high 24 digs for UW against the Dolphins, while freshman Marissa Harmon tossed out 35 assists. Lewis was one dig away from her first double-double of the season, while Harmon and senior Lily Austin added, eight and seven, respectively.
 
Set One:
The Mighty Dolphins jumped out to a 3-0 lead to begin the match before UW tied the score at five. Both team's largest lead was three the rest of the set before a JU kill gave the Dolphins a 25-23 set win. Traphagan had four kills, as Harmon recorded 11 assists to lead Wyoming.
 
Set Two:
The Cowgirl offense came alive early in the second set by taking a 4-0 lead. Despite falling behind 14-16, UW would claim four-straight points for a 20-16 advantage. JU would then tie it at 23 before Wyoming closed out the set, 25-23. Traphagan again had four kills, as Fields posted eight of her 24 digs.
 
Set Three:
In the third set, neither team held a lead larger than two before Jacksonville held a 19-16 advantage. Wyoming would then go on a 9-3 run to win the set, 25-22, and take a 2-1 set lead. Lewis recorded seven kills in the third stanza, Harmon dished out ten assists and Fields had eight digs for UW.
 
Set Four:
Wyoming jumped out to a 6-1 lead only to maintain a lead the entire set. The Cowgirls sailed through the frame by way of a 10-3 run to take the match. Traphagan, Place and Lewis each added three kills in the final set to help give Wyoming the victory.
 
 
On Saturday night against No. 21 Purdue, the Cowgirls proved to be up to the challenge and were once again led by Lewis with 17 kills. She added six digs against the Boilermakers while Fields led the team with 14. Harmon posted 41 assists against the 21st-ranked team in the nation and also added eight digs and six kills.
 
McBride closed out the UniWyo Invite with a career-high 11 kills and three blocks. Junior Reed Copeland recorded five total blocks and four kills, while fellow teammate Halie McArdle chipped in eight kills and four blocks.
 
Set One:
Wyoming jumped out to a 4-1 lead and remained in control the entire set. UW's biggest lead was seven, 17-10, after an attacking error from Purdue and then closed out the set on a 7-4 run. Lewis, McBride and Harmon totaled ten kills in the opening set to lead the Brown and Gold. Harmon also added nine assists to help UW take a 1-0 set lead.
 
Set Two:
Purdue came out ready to play in the second set, but was unable to break away until it was up 13-9, which forced a UW timeout. Wyoming was able to make it a three-point set down 19-22, but Purdue closed out the set, 25-19. Lewis led both teams with eight kills in the second frame.
 
Set Three:
Neither team had a lead larger than two until Wyoming held a 13-11 advantage. Wyoming's largest lead in the set was four, 24-20 before a service error gave UW the set victory. McBride chipped in four kills, while Harmon tossed out ten assists in the set immediately after intermission.
 
Set Four:
A back and forth set to begin with, Purdue managed to jump out to a 15-12 advantage before a UW timeout. The Boilermakers found a rhythm and didn't look back to take the set, 25-20. McBride once again led Wyoming with four kills, as Harmon strutted her stuff and handed out 12 assists.
 
Set Five:
The Boilermakers looked poised from the get go and cruised out to a 7-1 lead. They sailed from then on and earned the victory by a score of 15-7. Austin led the squad with two digs, as Harmon, Traphagan and McArdle each had one kill.
 
Up Next:
Wyoming will hit the road for the first time next weekend, as it travels to the Pepperdine Asics Classic. UW will face Pepperdine, Missouri State and Washington.
 

Notes:
-The 11 kills against Purdue was a career-high for McBride. She totaled 22 during the UniWyo Invite.
-Harmon has continued to run the offense for the Brown and Gold, as she has lead UW in assists in all six matches this season. She has 233 after two weekends of play.
-Defensively, Fields posted her fifth and sixth matches with double-digit digs. She is leading UW with 101 on the season.
-For their tremendous efforts, Place and Lewis were named to the All-Tournament team after the final match of the UniWyo Invite. Lewis led the Brown and Gold with 45 kills on the weekend. She also had 23 digs and six total blocks. Place had a weekend-best 15 total blocks in addition to her 17 kills for UW.
-After a 1,199 fans in attendance Friday night against Eastern Michigan, the UniWyo was packed with 1,302 fans for a new season best.