CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Aug. 24, 2019) – The Cowgirls fell in their exhibition match to Nebraska Kearney, 3-1 (23-25, 19-25, 25-23, 22-25) on Saturday night in Cheyenne. Wyoming now turns its attention to the regular season opener next Friday in Boulder, Colo., against Colorado.
 
"It's an exhibition match, and we played every kid," said head coach Chad Callihan. "It was good to us to get everyone in. We had five kids that have never played in a match for us, so we got them all time. It gives us a ton to see and work on. I was actually somewhat pleased with what we did tonight. We'll get in the gym and correct some things. When we step on the court in a week, it'll be nice that we got some of those nerves out, because we looked incredibly nervous for the majority of that match."
 
Three Cowgirls reached double-digit kills in seniors Tara Traphagan and Halie McArdle and sophomore KC McMahon. Senior Madi Fields had the match-high in digs, while redshirt freshman Carlie Fikse led both squads in total blocks.
 
Nebraska-Kearney took the first set, 25-23, pulling away for good at 20-19 after a back-and-forth opening points. No team led by more than three during the first frame. In the second set, the Lopers took a three point lead at 17-14, and went on an 8-5 run to take the second set, 25-19.
 
The Cowgirls took the third set, 25-23. Wyoming jumped out to an 8-4 lead before the Lopers eventually tied it at 15-15. The back-and-forth points continued until 22-all, but the Cowgirls earned three of the final four points to take the set. However, UNK outlasted the Cowgirls in the fourth, taking it 25-22 to win 3-1.
 
The Cowgirls open the regular season on Friday, Aug. 30, when they travel to Boulder, Colo., to face Colorado at 6 p.m. in the Buffs Invitational. The second game of that tournament is Saturday, Aug. 31, at Noon against Santa Barbara.
 
The Cowgirls host LIU Brooklyn on Monday, Sept. 2, at 6:30 p.m. for their regular season home opener in the UniWyo Sports Complex. Season tickets are available for Cowgirl volleyball, starting at $65 for public general admission and $35 for children between the ages of 3-12. Single-match tickets are $10 for general admission and $5 for children. Fans can contact the Wyoming ticket office at (307) 7660-7220 or by visiting the ticket office in the Arena-Auditorium Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.