LARAMIE, Wyo. (Nov. 2, 2019) – The Wyoming volleyball team opened the month of November, much like it spent most of October, winning. As the Cowgirls swept past Air Force Saturday afternoon at the UniWyo, winning 25-12, 25-13 and 25-19.
The Cowgirl (15-8, 10-2 MW) defense was smothering in the sweep as UW held the Falcons (8-16, 5-7 MW) to just a .009 hitting percentage and recorded 15 blocks on the day. The 15 blocks ties a season-high for the Cowgirls while the hitting percentage was an opponent-low against Wyoming in 2019.
"I thought we talked about some shot-tendencies with Air Force. It took us a couple of points but we figured it out. I thought (blockers at) the pins were doing a nice job of lining up and the middles did a good job of closing," said Head Coach Chad Callihan.
"I thought our service pressure really set up a lot of those blocks today too. That was a good thing to see against a pretty good passing team."
Wyoming was very balanced offensively on the day and was led by Emersen Cyza's match-high nine kills. KC McMahon and Jackie McBride added eight and seven kills, respectively while McBride hit .636 in the win.
Mackenzie Coates led the Cowgirls with 30 assists and a pair of service aces in the match. UW recorded five aces on the day with just two serving errors while AFA had just one ace and four errors.
Madi Fields led the back row with 13 digs while Hailey Zuroske added nine and Coates and Tara Traphagan each chipped in with eight. At the net, Carlie Fikse led the way with a career-high eight (3 solo, 5 assisted) total blocks. McMahon had six (2 solo, 4 assisted) while McBride added five and Coates had three total.
For the match, Wyoming hit .247 and surrendered just four blocks to the Falcons. The Cowgirls also had a 50-42 edge in digs and recorded 53 points to Air Force's 35.
The Cowgirls didn't trail for a single point in the first two sets and were able to rally in the decisive set after the Falcons got off to a hot start. Wyoming finished the third set on a 13-3 run to finish the match after falling behind 16-12.
"I think having a couple of extra days helped (after Tuesday' loss at CSU). Last time we played these two matches we turned around right away and played Thursday. We had Wednesday off this week, which I think was good for the team," continued Callihan.
With the win, Wyoming improved to 10-1 at home this season and also recorded its eighth sweep at home. The Cowgirls now hit the road for a pair of matches next week at San Diego State (Nov. 7) and Fresno State (Nov. 9). UW swept both the Aztecs and Bulldogs earlier this season in Laramie.
-WYO-
