LARAMIE, Wyo. (Dec. 4, 2023) – The Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team hosts the "Great 8" round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., as Montana State comes to town for quarterfinal action. The Cowgirls and Bobcats met in an exhibition match way back on August 19 in Cody.
Wyoming (22-9) earned its way into the Great 8 after a pair of wins last week in Greeley, Colo., in the opening two rounds. The Cowgirls defeated South Dakota in four sets to open the tournament and then swept Northern Colorado on the road in Friday's second round. UW showed great resiliency and stick-to-itiveness in the those two matches. The Cowgirls defeated the Coyotes 26-24, 23-25, 25-19 and 25-16 Thursday before defeating the Bears in a marathon sweep, 25-23, 32-30 and 26-24.
Rylee Schulz led the Cowgirls with 27 kills in the two matches and hit .328. Kasia Partyka has averaged 11.1 assists per set in the tournament and has orchestrated a Cowgirl offense that hit .344 against USD and .373 against UNC. In the win at Northern Colorado, Paige Lauterwasser tied a career-high with 14 kills while Evelyn Udezue had six kills in each of her first two career starts.
Defensively, Sierra Grizzle led the way with 14 digs in each match. While at the net, Sarah Holcomb led the Cowgirls with 15 total blocks and set a career-high with 11 in the win over UNC. Those 11 blocks helped Holcomb tally her first-career double-double, as she also added 10 kills in the sweep.
For the year, Partyka continues to climb the national rankings in assists per set, as her number of 10.70 per is now 13th in the country. Holcomb also ranks in the top-30 in the NCAA in total blocks (142) and blocks per set (1.29). Schulz's 3.28 kills per set is now up to fifth in the Mountain West this season.
Montana State, who finished tied for second in the Big Sky in 2023, advanced to the quarterfinals behind its win at regular season champion, Sacramento State, in the second round. The Bobcats are led by a pair of First Team All-Big Sky selections in Jourdain Kamps and Kira Thomsen. Thomsen, who was a unanimous seleciton, led the league with 515 kills and 4.19 per set while averaging 4.76 points a set. Kamps was second on the team averaging 2.56 kills per set and hit .263. Kamps' 113 blocks are the second-most on the squad. Nellie Stevenson leads MSU with 991 assists this season.
As a team, the Bobcats are hitting .221 as a team and are allowing opponents to hit at a .209 clip. MSU is also averaging 2.26 blocks per set as a team and 1.70 service aces per. Montana State has posted a 7-4 record in true road matches this season.
Cowgirl season ticket holders have until Tuesday at 5 p.m., to claim their same seats for Wednesday's match, after that, they will be open to the public. General admission tickets cost $25 for courtside seats and $10 for general admission. Youth (ages 3-12) and student tickets at $5 each.
-WYO-
