LARAMIE, Wyo. (Aug. 21, 2021) – Each of the last two evenings, the Cowgirl volleyball team has been ramping things up in preparation for the 2021 season as Wyoming traveled down to Greeley, Colo., for an exhibition match with Northern Colorado Friday night and then followed that up with its annual Brown & Gold Scrimmage Saturday in Laramie.
"I think we got what we wanted out of the last two nights," said Head Coach Chad Callihan following Saturday's intrasquad scrimmage.
"With all of the injuries that we had last year and all of the Covid protocols and things like that, we feel like it's going to be important to have a good bench this season and have the depth."
UNC took Friday's exhibition, 3-1 as all available Cowgirls saw action in the exhibition. Hailey Zuroske led UW against the Bears with eight kills, while returning setters Abby Olsen and Kyra Slavik each had 10 sets apiece on the night, while in the back row, Kaitlyn Gehler led the way with 13 digs.
In Saturday's contest, the Gold bested the Brown in five sets as the two squads proved to be evenly matched. Jackie McBride led all players with 13 kills on the night, while hitting .440. Faith Waitsman and KC McMahon led the Gold with 12 and 11 kills, respectively.
Slavik had 22 assists to lead the Gold while freshmen Payton Chamberlain led the Brown with 32 assists on the night. The Gold squad hit .290 as a team, while the Brown tallied a .272 clip.
"We really wanted to make sure that the young players got some good playing time the last two nights and I thought it was really nice to get a lot of time on the court last night, and then again tonight in front of fans. That piece was really good for us," continued Callihan.
The Cowgirls open the regular season Aug. 27 and 28 as UW hosts the first of two non-conference tournaments in 2021 with the Rumble in the Rockies as Saint Mary's and Siena come to town.
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