LARAMIE, Wyo. (March 23, 2021) – After having its last match against Nevada canceled, the Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team returns to action after a week-plus hiatus for the first of two-straight matches on the road as the Cowgirls travel to face Air Force, in a 6 p.m., contest Thursday.
The Cowgirls (8-4, 8-4 MW) had their home match last Saturday against the Wolf Pack canceled due to a COVID-19 issue within the Nevada program. UW is coming off a split on the road two weekends ago at Fresno State, dropping a hard-fought five-setter March 12, before bouncing back with a four-set victory in the March 13 rematch.
KC McMahon led the Cowgirls in both matches tallying a season-high 19 kills in each. McMahon hit .417 for the weekend, averaging 4.22 kills and 4.67 points per set against the Bulldogs while at the net, Jackie McBride tallied 11 total blocks, averaging 1.22 blocks per set. Hailey Zuroske notched her second double-double of the season in Friday's match, as she had a career-high 13 kills to go along with 12 digs in the first match of the weekend.
In the back row, Erika Jones led UW with 42 total digs (4.67 per set) and had a career-best 24 in Friday's loss. For her efforts, Jones was named the Mountain West's Defensive Player of the Week on March 15. It was the first weekly honor of Jones' career and the second time (Kaitlyn Gehler) that a Cowgirl has been named the defensive player of the week in the league.
McBride ranks in the top five in the Mountain West in blocks per set (3rd, 1.26) and hitting percentage (4th, .371) and as a team, the Cowgirls are second in the league averaging 2.70 blocks per set as a team and their .236 team hitting percentage ranks third-best in the MW.
The Cowgirls are looking for their 13th consecutive win in the series against the Falcons (6-6) and are 22-4 all-time at Air Force. UW won both matches against the Falcons last season, including a hard-fought five-set victory in Colorado Springs.
Bailey Keith leads the Falcons with 120 kills (2.45 per set) this season while Joi Harvey ranks sixth in the Mountain West with a .344 hitting percentage. As a team, the Falcons are hitting .201 as a team, while allowing opponents to hit a league-best .153.
In the back row, Jordan Daniels is fourth in the league in digs averaging 3.92 per set while Brookelyn Messenger is also fourth in the conference averaging 0.42 service aces per set. As a team, Air Force ranks fourth in the MW in kills per set (12.61), aces (1.76) and opponent kills (10.33).
Following Thursday's contest, Wyoming is off for a week before traveling to face conference-leading UNLV Thursday, April 1 in the Cowgirls' final road contest of the season. UW closes its season at home April 3 against San Jose State.
-WYO-
