LOGAN, Utah (Sept. 21, 2023) – The Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team fought valiantly Thursday night on the road, but ultimately suffered their first setback of the season, losing in five sets to the defending Mountain West Tournament Champions, Utah State. Set scores went 25-18, 23-25, 25-15, 26-28 and 15-6.
With the loss, UW drops to 11-1 on the season. The 11-match win streak that was snapped Thursday in the Mountain West-opener is the third-longest in program history. After dropping both the first and third sets in the match to fall behind, Wyoming fought back to tie the match up twice thanks to hanging on in the second set and winning a fourth-set thriller. Back-to-back aces from Tierney Barlow in the fourth gave the Cowgirls the win and pushed it to a fifth and deciding set.
In the fifth, UW took control early, scoring the first two points of the set before the Aggies (8-4, 1-0 MW) surged in front and took control. USU went on to finish the match on a 15-4 run to close things out.
It was a big night offensively for Rylee Schulz as she recorded a career-high 21 kills while hitting .348. Corin Carruth was the other Cowgirl with double-digit kills with 14 while Tierney Barlow added nine. Barlow, along with Sarah Holcomb, led UW with five total blocks each and recorded five of Wyoming's six service aces on the night. That mark is a new career-high for Barlow.
Kasia Partyka paced the Cowgirls with 52 assists in the loss and had the other ace. Partyka also added a trio of kills and three total blocks. Skylar Erickson led the Brown & Gold with 11 digs on the night while Sierra Grizzle had 10. Zoee Smith added nine.
For the match, UW was held to a .163 hitting percentage, including hitting negative in the deciding set. Utah State, meanwhile, hit .277 for the contest. The Aggies just edged out the Cowgirls in team blocks (13-12) and aces (7-6).
Up next, the Cowgirls look to start another winning streak as they continue on the road Saturday at Boise State. First serve is set for noon.
-WYO-
