LARAMIE, Wyo. (April 3, 2021) – The Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team ended its season with a tough loss Saturday afternoon at the UniWyo Sports Complex, losing in a hard-fought five sets to San Jose State, 20-25, 27-25, 18-25, 25-21 and 12-15.
The Cowgirls, who end their abbreviated spring season 8-6, rallied to tie the match, twice, after losing the first and third sets. UW was able to hold off the Spartans (7-9) in a thrilling second set as SJSU was able to survive the first two set-points in the second, before an attack error by the Spartans and a kill from Naya Shimé secured the set and tied the match at 1-1.
After the Spartans controlled much of the third set, Wyoming was able to take control late in the fourth set, going on a 7-2 run to take a 23-18 lead in the set. Shimé was again able to cap the set for the Cowgirls in the fourth and the match went to a deciding fifth set.
In the fifth, the Cowgirls were able to tie things at 3-3 and at 9-9, but never led in the fifth as the Spartans went on a 4-0 run to break the 9-9 tie and take a 13-9 lead. After the Cowgirls were able to get back-to-back points to make it 14-12, a kill from SJSU ended the match.
Hailey Zuroske led the Cowgirls in the loss with her third double-double of the season as she led the way with 15 kills, while hitting .353 and also tallied a team-best 10 digs. KC McMahon and Shimé were also in double figures with kills in the match, tallying 13 and 10, respectively. McMahon added seven digs, tying a career-high while Shimé, along with Corin Carruth, led UW with four total blocks on the day.
Abby Olsen led the Cowgirls with 35 assists, four kills, two aces and had nine digs while Zuroske led the Cowgirls with four service aces. Kaitlyn Gehler had nine digs from her libero position, while Erika Jones chipped in with seven.
UW had the edge in the serving game, notching seven aces and 13 service errors, while the Spartans had five aces and 14 errors. The Spartans had the advantage at the net, defensively, out-blocking the Cowgirls 13-9 in the match and hit .305 as a team with UW hitting .197.
The Cowgirls now shift their focus to the fall 2021 season.
-WYO-
