LARAMIE, Wyo. (Sept. 4, 2024) – The Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team is set for week 2 of action this weekend with a trip to the Buckeye State for a trio of matches. The Cowgirls will see action at the Akron and Cleveland State dual tournament where they will face UTRGV and Akron Friday at 9 a.m., and 4 p.m., respectively, Friday. UW closes the tournament with a trip to Cleveland State at 10 a.m., Saturday.
The Cowgirls (2-0) are coming off a come-from-behind five-set win in the season opener last week against Washington State before closing out the weekend in Nebraska with a sweep over Omaha. Sierra Grizzle recorded 45 digs in the two matches, averaging 5.63 per set on her way to Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week honors Monday. Grizzle recorded a career-high 34 digs in the win over Washington State.
Also on the defensive end, Sarah Holcomb picked up where she left off last season, as she averaged 1.63 blocks per set last weekend, a mark that leads the league on the young season. As a team, the Cowgirls held their two opponents to just a .111 team hitting percentage. Newcomer Emma Winter led the team with 23 kills (2.88 per set) in her first action in the Brown & Gold last weekend. Abi Milby tallied 16 kills while Paige Lauterwasser had 15. Holcomb and Kayla Mazzocca had 14 kills each from the middle.
Lauterwasser recorded the first double-double of her career in the win over Wazzu as she had 10 kills and a career-high 13 digs. Kasia Partyka, who is averaging 8.63 assists per set through two matches, recorded her 24th and 25th career double-doubles last weekend. Partyka averaged 2.75 digs a set to open 2024.
Friday against UTRGV will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools in program history. UW has faced Akron just one other time (2006), a Cowgirl win. Wyoming is 2-0 against Cleveland State and will be playing the Vikings for the first time since 2008.
UTRGV opened the season 3-0 at the Furman tournament last week, picking up sweeps against Charlotte and Charleston Southern and winning in four against the host-Paladins. Nadine Zech leads the the Vaqueros with 39 kills (4.33) and a .375 hitting percentage while being named the MVP at last week's tournament. Ilana De Assis has 37 kills through the first three matches while Isabella Costantini is averaging 11 assists per set.
Akron had a balanced offensive attack in its first two matches of 2024 with Emanouela Christodoulou leading the way with 27 kills. Lauren Baker and Gabby Brissett have 21 and 19 kills, respectively. Akron hit .266 in its first two matches and deploys a two-setter system. Eliska Vytiskova leads the Zips with 38 assists while Martina Villani has 29.
Cleveland State won its two neutral matches last week at North Carolina, 3-0 and got swept by the Tar Heels. Six student-athletes have 10-or-more kills through the opening weekend with Liberty Torres leading the way with 34 kills. The Vikings averaged 2.56 blocks and 16.89 digs per set defensively in the first three matches. Emma Walker is averaging 6.11 digs per set.
-WYO-
