LARAMIE, Wyo. (Sept. 28, 2023) It was a tale of two matches Thursday night for the Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team in their home conference opener. The Cowgirls jumped out to an early lead on UNLV, winning the first two sets, convincingly. However, the Lady Rebels rallied to win the final three sets to steal the match from UW. Set scores went 18-25, 14-25, 25-18, 25-20 and 15-12.
The team that was able to get out to an early lead in each set, was the one who came away victorious in the set Thursday night. The Cowgirls got the first five points of the first set on their way to jumping out to an early lead in the contest. In the second, Wyoming got the first six points and looked to be in control of the contest.
UNLV, who won its seventh consecutive match on the night, got the first four points of the third set and five of the first six points in the fourth to force the deciding fifth set. In the fifth, the Lady Rebels jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and UW couldn't quite reel them back in. The Cowgirls eventually tied things twice, at 10-10 and 11-11 before UNLV ended the match on a 4-1 run.
Rylee Schulz and Corin Carruth finished the match with double-digit kills, leading the Cowgirls with 18 and 15, respectively. Schulz also tallied a double-double in the loss as she tied for the team lead with 11 digs. Tierney Barlow added nine kills while Sarah Holcomb had eight and Kasia Partyka chipped in with seven.
Partyka finished the night with a match-best 42 assists to go along with those seven kills. Defensively, Skylar Erickson also had 11 digs from her libero spot while at the net, Holcomb led the way with four total blocks. Barlow added a trio of blocking assists.
For the match, the Cowgirls (11-3, 0-3 MW) hit .233 as a team while the Lady Rebels hit .313. UNLV hit .353 or better in the match's final three sets. UNLV also doubled-up the Cowgirls in team blocks, 16-8. Wyoming had six aces on the night to UNLV's five. Both teams tallied 52 digs.
UW now will look to Saturday night to get its first conference win of 2023. The Cowgirls host San Diego State at 7:30 p.m., inside the Arena-Auditorium. Fans that show their football game ticket at the door, can get into Saturday's volleyball match for half the price.
-WYO-
