PHOENIX, Ariz. (Oct. 2, 2025) – The Wyoming Cowgirls once again went to five sets, this time Thursday night in their Mountain West road opener against Grand Canyon. Wyoming, for the second time in the last three matches, jumped out to an early two sets to none lead, and then was able to hold on to pull out the winner-take-all fifth set to move to 3-0 in league play. Set scores went 25-21, 25-19, 19-25, 17-25 and 15-10.
The Cowgirls (7-7, 3-0 MW), who have now won four straight matches, controlled the first set and second sets. UW didn't trail in the opening set and trailed just once in the second, as it looked to be well on its way to another victory. However, the Lopes had plans to foil that, as GCU turned the tables by controlling the third and fourth sets to force the decisive fifth.
In the fifth, Grand Canyon would score the first point, but that would be the only time it would lead in the set. The Cowgirls would push in front to take a 6-2 lead in the fifth and would eventually push the advantage to as many as seven points, at 13-6. After four straight from the Lopes, Wyoming would get the next two points to escape Phoenix with the win.
Sarah Holcomb led the Cowgirls on both sides of the net in the win, as she tallied 15 kills and didn't commit an error while hitting .714 in the win. Holcomb also led the way defensively, tallying seven total blocks on the night. Paige Lauterwasser and Addy Cook also finished with double-digit kills, notching 11 and 10, respectively. Lauterwasser also racked up her fifth double-double of the season, as she added 16 digs as well.
Skylar Erickson led the Cowgirls with a match-high 20 digs, her third match this season with 20-plus digs. Sara Quigley had a career-best 19 digs in the win while Lily LaFlesch chipped in with 10. Quigley, who tallied her first-career double-double, had 24 assists against GCU while Maddy Stucky led the Cowgirls with 27 assists. The two setters led the Cowgirls at the service line as well, as Quigley had three aces while Stucky had two.
For the match, the Cowgirls hit .234 as a team on the night while Grand Canyon hit .266. Wyoming hit .273 in the fifth, while holding GCU to a .190 clip. The Lopes held a 13-9 advantage in blocks on the night while UW doubled-up Grand Canyon in service aces, 10-5.
Next up for the Cowgirls, they look to move to 4-0 to begin conference play with a road trip to New Mexico Saturday. First serve is set for 1 p.m.
-WYO-
