MALIBU, Calif. (Sept. 8, 2017) – The University of Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team fell to Pepperdine 3-0 (20-25, 29-31, 25-27), before dropping a second match to Missouri State also in three sets (21-25, 12-25, 14-25) on Friday at the Pepperdine Asics Classic in Malibu, Calif. The Cowgirls will wrap up the tournament tomorrow with a 3 p.m. MT match against No. 8 Washington.
 
"It's always fun to win, but before that happens you have to learn to compete consistently in every match and for every point," UW head coach Chad Callihan said. "We will get this figured out and clean up the errors, both physical and mental. While the opponent doesn't get any easier tomorrow with Washington, we can learn from today and work to put in a more consistent effort."
 
The first contest on Friday was hard-fought throughout the match. On its home court, Pepperdine seemed to have an answer for everything against the Cowgirls. All three sets came down to the wire, but UW was unable to get over the bump as Pepperdine took the first match in a straight-set sweep.
 
Sophomore Halie McArdle and junior Reed Copeland led UW offensively on Friday afternoon. McArdle was one kill from tying her career high, as she finished with nine, while Copeland added a season-high eight against the Waves. Furthermore, sophomore Tara Traphagan and redshirt freshman Jackie McBride each added six kills for Wyoming during the match.
 
Traphagan led the team with nine blocks, as Copeland and McBride recorded seven and six, respectively. Freshman Marissa Harmon once again ran the offense and finished with 33 assists. She also added ten digs for what was her second double-double of 2017. Sophomore Madi Fields again led the Brown and Gold in digs, for what was the seventh time in seven matches. She recorded 15 against the Waves, with junior Emily Lewis just behind with 13.
 
Set One:
Wyoming jumped out to a 5-2 lead after Harmon's first kill of the match. The Waves then went on a 5-1 run for their first lead of day. With UW down by three, 16-19, Pepperdine recorded three-straight points to further its lead. Ultimately, Pepperdine used four service aces throughout the frame to take the first set, 25-20. Fields had seven digs in the opening set, as Harmon tossed out eight assists.
 
Set Two:
Set two was quite a battle between the Cowgirls and Waves. Wyoming first held set point, 24-19, before Pepperdine stormed back to take the set on its sixth set point, 31-29. To begin with, a kill from McArdle tied the second set at three. UW then took advantage of two-straight attacking errors from the Waves to lead 5-3 early in frame. Wyoming seemed in control and likely to cruise to the set win before Pepperdine evened the score at 25. Copeland recorded a set-high six kills in the second frame and Harmon dished out 16 assists.
 
Set Three:
The Waves looked sharp early in the set before Wyoming went on a run to cut it to one, 16-17. The run forced Pepperdine to call a timeout to regroup. The Cowgirls first lead of the set came from Copeland's eighth kill to give UW a 23-22 advantage. The teams tied twice more at 24 and 25 before Pepperdine closed out the match, 27-25. McArdle had four kills for the Brown and Gold, as Lewis posted eight digs in the final set.
 
 
Wyoming looked to get back on track against Missouri State on Friday night. The Bears used ten service aces compared to UW's two to take the 3-0 win. MSU also used Wyoming's eight service errors to run away with the victory.
 
Lewis led all Cowgirls with eight kills during UW's second match of the day. McArdle recorded six, with Traphagan adding five against the Bears. McBride topped four kills with a team-high five blocks to conclude her Friday. Harmon recorded 15 assists with redshirt sophomore Cori Aafedt adding a season-best seven. Fields once again led UW in digs with 17, and also recorded three assists during the match.
 
Set One:
The Bears were able to jump out to a 5-1 lead but the Cowgirls never shied away. UW tied the score at eight and a kill from McBride then gave the Brown and Gold it first lead of the match. MSU used a 7-3 run to which Wyoming shortly after used its second timeout. The Cowgirls went on a 5-1 run to tie the score at 21, but MSU scored the last four points to win the set, 25-21. Fields had nine digs, while Traphagan and Lewis had four and three fills, respectively.
 
Set Two:
Missouri State and Wyoming's offense both came out feisty early in the second set. Seven of the first ten points came from kills. Wyoming took its first timeout with the Bears up, 10-6. At that point, the set was back and forth until a 6-0 run from MSU to give it a 19-9 lead. Missouri State would go on to take the set, 25-12 and a 2-0 set lead. Lewis posted three kills for UW in the second set, as Fields led the team with six digs.
 
Set Three:
MSU's aggressiveness helped trigger a 10-2 lead to begin the third and final set. The Bears first had set point up 24-14 before the Cowgirls went on a 4-0 run to force a MSU timeout. A service error gave Missouri State the final point and match. McArdle led the Brown and Gold with four kills in the third set.
 
Wyoming will close out the Pepperdine Asics Classic with a tough test in No. 8 Washington on Saturday. The match is set to begin at 3 p.m. MT.
 
 
Quick Notes:
-Reed Copeland is now three blocks from passing Wende Brown (1991-94) for ninth all-time in Cowgirl history. Copeland will look to record the blocks against Washington on Saturday. Brown's last match as a Cowgirl was not only an NCAA First Round match but also the last time Wyoming faced the Huskies in 1994. Brown posted a stat line of ten kills, nine total blocks and eight digs in that match against UW.  
-Dating back to the beginning of the 2015 season, the Cowgirls are now 10-4 in the last 14 matches against teams from California.
-Also dating back to the beginning of the 2015 season, the Cowgirls hold an overall record of 26-13 in the months of August and September.
-Madi Fields has now recorded double-digit digs in all eight matches this season. She leads the team with 133.
-Marissa Harmon continues to lead the Brown and Gold in assists. The freshman setter has 281 total on the season and has recorded at least 30 in seven of the eight matches played.
-With her eight kills against the Bears on Friday night, Emily Lewis has led the team in six of the eight matches and now has a team-high 103 on the season.