LARAMIE, Wyo. (Aug. 28, 2021) – The second day of the UW Rumble in the Rockies brought another two-match split for Wyoming, as the Cowgirls swept Siena in the day's opening match and then followed that up with a loss to Saint Mary's in the last match of the tournament Saturday evening.
Wyoming (2-2) opened the day with its second consecutive sweep over Siena in the tournament. The Cowgirls won the first two sets 25-16 and 25-19 and were able to rally in a thrilling third set, 28-26 to secure the sweep. The Cowgirls faced set point, trailing at 24-22 in the third, but were able to force extra points and eventually put the Saints away down the stretch.
KC McMahon led the way with a match-high 13 kills in the win over the Saints (0-3) and hit .333. Naya Shimé chipped in with eight kills while hitting .500 while Corin Carruth and Teresa Garza had seven kills each in the win. Garza and Kayla Mazzocca each had four total blocks in the morning, while Lexie Collins racked up a match-high eight total blocks.
UW hit .297 in the opener of the day and held Siena to a .202 team hitting percentage. The Cowgirls also had a 12-7 edge in total blocks and had four service aces while the Saints had just one.
For the second match in a row, Wyoming played all three of its setters against the Saints and was led by Kyra Slavik's 14 assists. Payton Chamberlain and Abby Olsen had 12 and nine assists, respectively in the sweep. In the back row, Kaitlyn Gehler led the way with a season-best 13 digs.
In the nightcap, Saint Mary's (3-0) once again had the Cowgirls' number, sweeping UW 25-16, 25-18 and 25-23.
McMahon led the Cowgirls once again in the loss, as she tallied eight kills. Shimé added seven and hit a match-high .412. Jackie McBride also had seven kills on 11 swings on the night. Wyoming hit just .125 against the Gaels, who hit .237.
Slavik led the way from her setter position with 15 assists and also added six digs while Gehler led the Wyoming back row with a match-best 11 digs. Olsen, who came off the bench in the final two sets of the match, had seven assists and seven digs.
Wyoming had just a lone ace, from Erika Jones, Saturday night and committed six service errors. SMC, meanwhile, had four aces and also out-blocked the Cowgirls seven to four.
UW now shifts its sights to the East coast and its first road action of the season as it travels to Charleston, S.C., for the Charleston Southern VolleyBucs Invitational September 3 and 4. The Cowgirls open the tournament against Jacksonville State and Charleston Southern Sept. 3, before closing on Sept. 4 with The Citadel.
-WYO-
