ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (Sept. 28, 2019) – The Wyoming volleyball team made it a 2-for-2 week to open Mountain West play as the Cowgirls once again rallied to win another five-set thriller, this time defeating New Mexico 25-17, 21-25, 26-28, 25-20 and 17-15.
Wyoming (7-6, 2-0 MW) was led with three Pokes with double-figure kills in the win. Halie McArdle and Jackie McBride led the way with 14 kills each. McBride also recorded her second career double-double in the match as she was a monster at the net defensively, notching 11 total blocks. Tara Traphagan was also in double digits with 11 kills while hitting .310.
In the back row, the Cowgirls also had three players with double-figure digs and were led by Madi Fields' 23. Kyra Slavik and Kiahlei added 15 and 11, respectively. Slavik also led the Pokes with 47 assists in the match to record her first-ever double-double.
The Cowgirls ended up hitting .223 for the match while the Lobos (5-9, 0-2 MW) hit .180. UW also had a slight edge in blocks, recording 15 blocks to UNM's 13. The Cowgirls also doubled-up the Lobos in service aces, 8-4.
UW got out to a fast start Saturday, leading all but the first point of set one as the Cowgirls opened the match with a 7-1 lead. The Lobos would get the score within a point at 15-14, but a 7-0 run from the Pokes gave them enough cushion to cruise to a first set victory.
In sets two and three, Wyoming had leads late in the set, but UNM rallied in both sets late to take control of the match two sets to one. In set four, the Cowgirls were able to regain their footing after trailing early on in the set and pushed the match to a 2-2 tie.
In the deciding fifth set, the Cowgirls jumped out to early leads of 5-2 and 9-6 and also had match-point at 14-11. However, the Lobos proved tough to finish as UNM tied the match at 14-14 and 15-15 before the Cowgirls were able to finish the match with the last two points.
Wyoming now returns home for a big matchup to open the month of October as the Cowgirls host 17th-ranked Colorado State at the UniWyo in a 6:35 p.m., match Oct. 1.
-WYO-
