LOGAN, Utah (Oct. 17, 2019) – Halie McArdle recorded her first career double-double and KC McMahon tied a career-high with 18 kills as Wyoming survived a hard-fought, five-set match at Utah State Thursday night, winning 25-13, 20-25, 25-21, 23-25 and 15-13.
McArdle ended the night with 15 kills and a season-high 11 digs to notch the double-double. McArdle led the Cowgirls (11-7, 6-1 MW) with 41 attacks in the win while the 18 kills by McMahon were a match high. McMahon also had two solo blocks, including a block for match point.
Jackie McBride and Faith Waitsman each added nine kills on the night. Waitsman led Wyoming with a .333 hitting percentage and six total blocks. Tara Traphagan added eight kills against the Aggies (2-17, 2-5 MW).
The Cowgirls came out firing Thursday night, hitting .385 in set one and not trailing once to open the match. Tied at 4-4 in the first set, UW went on a 13-2 run to turn the set in a runaway, eventually leading the set by as many as 12 points.
After the Aggies returned the favor with a big run to take the second, the Pokes were able to surge late in a back-and-forth third set, ending the set with a 6-1 run. Wyoming trailed late in that set 20-19 before taking control.
In the fourth, USU was able to notch things up after another well-contested set to send the match to a winner-take-all fifth. The fifth was a wild affair as there were nine ties and seven lead-changes in the set. The Cowgirls trailed late, 13-11 but were able to escape with the victory behind the strength of a 4-0 run to end the match.
Libero Madi Fields led three Cowgirls in double-figure digs with 21 in the match. Erika Jones had 14 to go along with McArdle's 11. Mackenzie Coates had her second match with 50-plus assists this season as she registered 53. Coates also led the Pokes with four service aces while Fields had three. As a team, Wyoming had a season-best 10 aces while USU had just four. The Aggies also committed 10 serving errors to Wyoming's six.
UW out-hit the Aggies in the match, .230 to .199 while Utah State had the edge in blocks, out-blocking the Pokes 14-9. The Cowgirls did have 13 more digs (69-56) than the Aggies.
Wyoming now shifts its focus to its second road match of the week as the Cowgirls will face Boise State at 2 p.m., Saturday.
-WYO-
