LARAMIE, Wyo. (Sept. 8, 2018) – The Wyoming volleyball team finished up an undefeated weekend at the UniWyo Invitational Saturday afternoon, sweeping Murray State at the UniWyo Sports Complex. Cowgirls Halie McArdle, Reed Copeland and Cori Aafedt were named to the all-tournament team, with McArdle taking MVP honors.
 
"I really like the way we've been setting the tone," head coach Chad Callihan said. "In all of our matches, except the Portland match, we've come out and looked like we're ready to go. I'd like to see us finish matches the way we start them, but that's a good Murray State team. I think when you check their record at the end of the year, they're going to have 20 wins and be competing for their conference championship, so it was good for us to match up against a team like that."
 
The Cowgirls (8-1) recorded a .402 hitting percentage as a team, holding Murray State to a .107 mark. Five Pokes finished with six or more kills—led by Copeland and junior Tara Traphagan with eight—and all five of those players finished with hitting percentages of .400 or above. Cori Aafedt led the Pokes in assists with 21.
 
"I think that's something we really have an advantage over teams with, that there isn't really one person you can key on with our team," Traphagan said. "If someone is having an off night, we have the ability to reverse it and go to someone else. We have that option and anyone can put the ball away at any time."
 
Defensively, Wyoming finished with 12 total blocks to the Racers' one. Copeland finished just shy of her second-straight double-digit blocking effort with nine, followed by Traphagan with five. Ten of the 11 Cowgirls in the rotation recorded digs for a team total of 32, led by McArdle and libero Madi Fields.
 
"I think we did a good job picking up off speed this weekend," Fields said. "I think against Arizona State, they were a big tipping team, got good breaks, worked as a unit and really used our defensive system and took control…Reed did awesome this weekend. She had a crazy amount of blocks. We just did a great job competing this weekend, defensively."
 
Wyoming got off to a hot start, taking the first set handily, 25-14. The Brown and Gold offense was paced by Traphagan with four kills on six attacks. Traphagan was one of five UW players with multiple kills in the set, as the Pokes hit a .571 percentage with only one attacking error.
 
The Cowgirls continued their offensive efficiency in the second, hitting .375 while buckling down on defense to hold Murray State to a .000 hitting percentage—thanks in part to five blocks for the Brown and Gold. Leading 19-16 late, Wyoming was able to pull away outscoring the Racers, 6-3, to close out the 25-19 set win. Copeland led the way for UW in the period with four kills, an .800 hitting percentage and three blocks.
 
The Racers wouldn't go away quietly in the third, jumping out to an 11-6 lead midway through the set; however, after a timeout the Cowgirls were able to tie the set up at 15-apiece and from there seized control of the frame, pulling away for the 25-21 clincher. Wyoming hit .324 in the frame, despite being outkilled by the Racers, 17-11. It was the Cowgirls' five blocks in the final set that would help put them over the top for the win.
 
The Pokes will be back in action next weekend, as they travel to Ames, Iowa for the Cyclone Classic, featuring Iowa State, Iowa and Syracuse. The event begins on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. MT against Iowa State.
 
2018 UniWyo Invite All-Tournament Team
Halie McArdle, OH, Wyoming
Reed Copeland, MB, Wyoming
Cori Aafedt, S, Wyoming
Ivana Jeremic, OH, Arizona State
Courtney Leffel, L, Arizona State
Rachel Giustino, OH, Murray State
Lexi LaGoy, MH, Binghamton
 
Bold indicates tournament MVP