LARAMIE, Wyo. (Sept. 15, 2021) – The Wyoming volleyball team travels to its final non-conference tournament of the season this weekend as the Cowgirls head to the Shocker Volleyball Classic September 17 and 18.
The Cowgirls open the tournament at 3:30 p.m., Mountain Time against 17th-ranked Creighton Friday. Saturday, UW faces host-Wichita State at 9 a.m., and South Dakota at 3:30 p.m.
Wyoming (6-3) is coming off a 2-1 weekend at home at the UniWyo Invite last weekend. The Cowgirls opened the tournament with a thrilling comeback win in five sets over UCSB and closed with a sweep over Missouri. In between the two victories, the Cowgirls fell in four sets to Northwestern.
KC McMahon and Faith Waitsman were named to the all-tournament team for the Cowgirls. McMahon led UW with 34 kills (2.83 per set) and hit .298 over the weekend, while Waitsman averaged 1.75 kills and 1.33 digs per set in the three matches. Hailey Zuroske averaged 2.36 kills and 2.27 digs per set at the UniWyo and led the Cowgirls with four aces.
UW ranks second in the Mountain West averaging 2.63 blocks per set as a team, while individually, Lydeke King leads the team and ranks sixth in the league with an average of 1.11 blocks per set. McMahon ranks ninth in the MW with 2.81 kills per set in 2021, while Jackie McBride's .343 hitting percentage is 10th.
The Cowgirls last faced all three of this weekend's opponents back in 2019. South Dakota defeated Wyoming in four sets at the South Dakota Classic that season, while at the Bluejay Invitational, Creighton swept UW and the Brown and Gold picked up a four-set victory over Wichita State.
No. 17 Creighton enters the weekend with a 9-1 mark, its lone loss coming to third-ranked Nebraska last week. Jaela Zimmerman leads the way with 3.67 kills per set, while Norah Sis is averaging 3.55 per. Kendra Wait is averaging 10.45 assists per set from her setter position. CU is hitting .250 as a team in 2021, while holding opponents to just a .133 clip. Abby Bottomley leads the defense in the back row, averaging five digs per set.
Wichita State is 5-1 on the young season and will be playing its first matches at home this weekend. Kailin Newsome leads the Shockers with 75 kills (3.26 per set) and Kelly Brylee leads the team averaging 3.45 per set. In the back row, Lily Liekweg's 4.83 digs per set leads the squad. Setters Kayce Litzau and Lauren Phillips are averaging 9.35 and 8.56 assists per set, respectively.
USD is 3-3 in 2021, with all three wins coming at home. Elizabeth Juhnke leads the team with 77 kills and 3.50 kills per set. Madison Harms is hitting an impressive .464 in limited action this season. The Coyotes are averaging 2.73 blocks per set through six matches on the year and has four averaging at least one block per set. Setter Madison Jurgens is averaging 9.5 assists per set this season.
UW has played just a pair of matches away from Laramie this season, two weekends ago at the Charleston Southern VolleyBucs Invite. The Cowgirls won their lone neutral-site match this fall with a four-set win over Jacksonville State at the tournament. The Cowgirls' only true road match this season was a four-set victory over Charleston Southern.
-WYO-
