BOULDER, Colo. (August 30, 2019) – The Cowgirls dropped their opening match of the Buffs Invitational to Colorado, 3-0 (18-25, 23-25, 22-25). The loss snapped a two-game winning streak in the series against CU for Wyoming.
 
Senior outside hitter Tara Traphagan led the Cowgirls with nine kills, while junior middle blocker Jackie McBride added eight kills on an efficient .500 hitting percentage (8-1-14). McBride chipped in three block assists, while junior middle blocker Faith Waitsman had a solo block and four block assists.
 
Senior libero Madi Fields led UW with 10 digs, while junior setter Mackenzie Coates had eight digs and a team-high 17 assists. Senior outside hitter Halie McArdle had a strong match at the service line with a pair of aces.
 
As a team, the Cowgirls hit .170 (35-17-106), had 11.5 blocks and 34 digs. Colorado hit .182 (39-19-110), and had 10.0 blocks and 39 digs.
 
The two teams battled to a 6-6 tie to open the first set, but a 5-0 run by CU put them up for good in the set and forced a Wyoming timeout. Colorado had its biggest lead of the set at 24-15, and took the set by ending a 3-0 run by the Cowgirls.
 
In the second set, the Cowgirls took an early 4-1 lead, and pushed it to 13-9 later on.  However, the Buffs tied it at 17-all, and took a lead that they pushed to 23-20. The Cowgirls fought off three set points, but dropped the second set, 25-23.
 
Colorado jumped out to an early 6-3 lead in the third set, forcing a UW timeout. Out of the stoppage, Colorado extended the lead to 11-6, and the Cowgirls called a timeout. After the break, the Cowgirls rattled off a 4-0 run to force a CU timeout with Wyoming trailing 13-10.
 
Colorado was forced into a timeout after a McArdle kill capped a 3-0 run for Wyoming to cut the deficit to 16-20. The Buffs rallied after the timeout and took a 24-19 lead. The Cowgirls fought off three set points before falling, 25-22.
 
The Cowgirls return to the court tomorrow against Santa Barbara at Noon in their second game of the Buffs Invitational. The Cowgirls will then host LIU on Monday, Sept. 2, at 6:30 p.m.