FRESNO, Calif. (Oct. 15, 2022) – For the second time this season, the Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team made it a 2-for-2 week on the road in conference play. The Cowgirls rallied after dropping the first set Saturday at Fresno State to come away with a four-set victory. Set scores went 23-25, 25-20, 25-21 and 25-14.
After dropping a tightly-contested first set, the Cowgirls (8-12, 4-4 MW) found themselves trailing in the second, 8-4. However, from there, Wyoming would respond to take a 10-9 lead and would then go on a 5-1 run, to get some breathing room in the frame at 19-16. After the Bulldogs (6-14, 0-8) cut the deficit to 19-18, the Cowgirls would end the second on a 6-2 spurt to even the match up at one set each.
In the third, UW controlled the pace, never trailing in the set, and led by as many as six, at 16-10. But Fresno State would battle back to make the score 17-16 in favor of the Cowgirls. Once again, however, UW would end the set strongly, lengthening the lead up to 22-17, before closing-out the set, 25-21. Wyoming would close things out handily in the fourth, leading by as many as nine points, multiple times before scoring three of the set's final four points to come away with the road win.
Naya Shimé was excellent for the Cowgirls in the win, leading the way with 18 kills in the win and hit .441 to go along with five digs and a pair of blocks. KC McMahon came off the bench and added 11 kills while hitting .320. Teresa Garza and Tierney Barlow, meanwhile, added nine and seven kills, respectively. Garza had 11 digs on the day and along with Rylee Schulz, led the team with a pair of service aces. Barlow, meanwhile, hit .500 in the win and had five total blocks.
Kasia Partyka continued her strong week Saturday as she led with 44 assists. Partyka also added four kills, four blocking assists, an ace and eight digs. Hailey Zuroske notched a match-high 17 digs against the Bulldogs.
Wyoming hit .271 for the match, while holding FSU to just a .090 clip, the second time in as many matches that a Cowgirl opponent has hit below .100 as a team. The Cowgirls out-blocked the Bulldogs 11-8 in the contest and also had two more service aces.
Next up, the Cowgirls host Utah State Thursday night at 6:30 before hitting the road for a Saturday contest at Boise State.
-WYO-
