LARAMIE, Wyo. (Aug. 27, 2021) – The Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team opened the 2021 season Friday with a two-match split in day one of the Rumble in the Rockies Tournament, hosted by UW. The Cowgirls opened the season with a three-set loss to Saint Mary's, before rebounding in the evening with a sweep of its own, besting Siena 25-14, 25-19 and 25-17 to pick up their first victory of the campaign.
Against the Saints (0-2), the Cowgirls opened the match strongly on the defensive side of the net, holding Siena to just a -.097 attacking percentage as a team in the opening frame, while also recording seven total team blocks. Jackie McBride led Wyoming with three kills and three blocks in the first set. Wyoming hit .304 in the first set to take an early lead.
In set two, Wyoming put forth a dominant effort to take a two sets to none lead in the match, as it never trailed in the second set and hit .448 as a team in the frame. 15 different Cowgirls saw action in the second set.
The third set proved to be a bit more of a battle for Wyoming, as it played a lot of younger student-athletes in the set. However, the Cowgirls were able to respond a couple of times in the set with big runs. The first, coming via a 4-0 run early in the set to push the Cowgirls in front, 7-4. Later in the set, with UW up just 14-12, it was able to go on an 8-3 run to push the advantage to 22-15, forcing a Siena timeout. Following the timeout, the Cowgirls were able to close out the set and the match.
Naya Shimé led the way in the victory with eight kills while hitting .412. Shimé also got it done defensively at the net for UW, tallying three solo and two block assists on the night. Teresa Garza chipped in with seven kills as she provided a spark off the bench in both matches while Faith Waitsman added five kills and hit .571.
The Cowgirls played all three setters against the Saints and were led by Payton Chamberlain's 15 assists. Abby Olsen added nine as UW hit .397 for the match. Defensively, the Cowgirls tallied 16 team blocks and held Siena to a .233 hitting percentage.
In the back row, Garza led the way with eight digs while Kaitlyn Gehler added six and Shimé chipped in with five.
"Overall I thought the girls responded well this evening," said Head Coach Chad Callihan after the match.
"I thought there was good energy. We were pretty down after the Saint Mary's match, but we felt like there were a lot of things that we could have done better. Not to have a lot of time in-between matches and for them to come in with the energy that they did tonight, I think that says a lot about this group and I think it will serve us well moving forward."
Saint Mary's (2-0) controlled much of the afternoon match against the Cowgirls, winning 25-17, 25-19 and withstanding a charge late in the third, to win the set and the match, 26-24.
Waitsman led the Cowgirls in the loss with 10 kills and hit .429 and also tallied three block assists. Shimé and Hailey Zuroske added seven kills apiece in the loss, while McBride chipped in with six and had five total blocks.
Wyoming hit .266 in the match, while the Gaels hit .307 as a team. Wyoming also committed eight service errors while SMC had just two. UW had a nine to five edge in blocks on the afternoon.
Chamberlain led the way with 19 assists against Saint Mary's while Kyra Slavik added 14. Gehler led the way in the back row with eight digs in the loss.
As far as improvements for the Cowgirls in day two of the Rumble in the Rockies, Callihan also commented on that.
"Defense. Going back to the first match today, we dug at 36 percent and our goal is well over 50 (percent). We weren't in the right ballpark there, so both blocking and digging, those areas we have to improve, and they will."
Wyoming will once again have a pair of matches in day two of the tournament, Saturday in the Rumble in the Rockies. The Cowgirls and Siena will face-off once again at 10 a.m., from the UniWyo Sports Complex. UW concludes its opening weekend at 6:30 p.m., in a rematch with Saint Mary's.
-WYO-
