BOULDER, Colo. (Sept. 13, 2024) – The Wyoming Cowgirls suffered their first setback of the season Friday afternoon to open the CU Buffs Invitational. The Cowgirls fell in four hard-fought sets to California, 25-14, 23-25, 21-25 and 26-28.

After dominating the first set against the Golden Bears, UW came up just short in the next two sets to fall behind in the match two sets to one. In the fourth, the Cowgirls appeared to have Cal against the ropes, but the Golden Bears were able to rally late, coming back from being down 23-21 to force extra points and eventually escape with the victory.

The Cowgirls (5-1) hit a season-best .282 in the loss while Cal hit .250. However, Wyoming was out-blocked in a contest for the first time this season as Cal had a 12-8 advantage at the net defensively. UW also had an 8-5 edge in service aces but committed 15 serving errors to California's seven. The Golden Bears also had nine more digs in the contest.

Individually, Paige Lauterwasser led the Cowgirl offense with 13 kills in the loss while Emma Winter also finished with double-digit kills with 12. Winter also hit .476 on the afternoon. A trio of Cowgirls finished with eight kills as Sarah Holcomb, Kayla Mazzocca and Kasia Partyka all hit that mark. Partyka hit a team-best .615 in the loss and also tied a career-high with four service aces

Defensively, Holcomb led UW with six block assists in the loss while Partyka added three. Sierra Grizzle led the Cowgirls in the back row with nine digs against Cal. Partyka led the way with 42 assists in the match.

Wyoming now looks to rebound now in its second match at the invite Saturday afternoon against UC Irvine. First serve is set for 3 p.m., in Boulder.

-WYO-