COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Wyoming volleyball team completed its season sweep of Air Force on Saturday afternoon, knocking off the Falcons in a five-set match. It marks the Cowgirls' eighth-straight win over the Falcons.
Junior
Halie McArdle led the Cowgirls with a career-high 22 kills on a .269 hitting percentage. Senior
Emily Lewis was close behind with 19 kills—just two off of her career best—with a .457 hitting percentage. Setter
Cori Aafedt racked up 34 assists along with a kill and eight digs.
Defensively,
Reed Copeland recorded eight total blocks, contributing on all but one of the team's nine.
Madi Fields posted 15 digs along with five assists and a service ace.
After Air Force led nearly wire to wire in the first set on the way to a 25-21 first-set win, the Cowgirls responded in the second with a 25-23 win.
The Falcons opened the second frame on a 6-1 run, but the Pokes were able to chip away at the lead throughout the period, cutting the once significant Air Force lead to a tie at 19-all. Air Force would regain a 22-20 lead late, but Lewis recorded a trio of consecutive kills to put Wyoming back on top at 23-22. Again, Air Force tied it back up at 23 apiece, but a block from Lewis and Copeland, and a final kill from Lewis secured the set victory for the Brown and Gold.
Wyoming didn't trail in the third set as the Cowgirls tallied another 25-23 win to take a 2-1 advantage in the match. The Pokes hit their best in the match in the third, posting a .324 hitting percentage with 14 kills and only three errors in the frame.
Air Force was able to pick up a 25-22 win of their own in the fourth set to force a fifth; however, the decisive frame was all Wyoming as the Cowgirls dominated to lock up the match victory. It was after the Falcons took a 2-0 lead early on that the Pokes turned it on and proceeded to win 15 of the next 21 points to close out the home team. Wyoming held Air Force to a .083 hitting percentage while posting a .320 mark of their own to overwhelm the Falcons.
The Cowgirls will be back in action next weekend as they wrap up their 2018 road schedule, beginning with a 7:30 p.m. matchup at Boise State this Thursday.
