Cowgirls Stumble in Five Against Nevada

* University of Wyoming press release

LARAMIE -- The Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team came up short in its five-set match Saturday afternoon at home against Nevada. The Wolf Pack was able to win a competitive, back-and-forth match 25-23, 24-26, 16-25, 25-21 and 15-13 to escape Laramie with the victory.

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After dropping a tightly-contested first set, the Cowgirls (6-12, 2-4 MW) looked to be in danger of going down two sets late in the frame, trailing by as many as six, at 21-15 and being down 23-18 later on.

However, the Cowgirls would respond quickly, ending the frame on an impressive 7-1 run to knot the match up at one set apiece. UW was able to get five kills and a Skylar Erickson service ace to end the second.

In the third, Wyoming controlled the set from start-to-finish to take a 2-1 match lead and looked to be firmly in control of the contest.

However, the Wolf Pack (8-9, 2-4 MW) would rally in the fourth, leading by as many as seven in the set and forcing a fifth set. In the fifth, the Cowgirls jumped out to an early 6-4 lead before Nevada was able to go on a big 7-1 run to take a 11-7 lead.

Wyoming would eventually tie the set at 12-12, but thanks to a pair of Cowgirl serving errors and a Wolf Pack ace, Nevada was able to take the fifth set late. For the match, Nevada had five aces to Wyoming’s four and also committed just six service errors, while the Cowgirls had 13 miscues.

Offensively, UW out-hit the Wolf Pack, .223 to .169 in the loss while Nevada had a 14-12 edge in total blocks. The Cowgirls ended the match with 10 more points than did the Wolf Pack and also had a 90-74 advantage in digs and a 70-57 advantage in total kills, but it wasn’t enough on the day.

Naya Shimé recorded her third 20-plus kill match of the season as she led the way with a match-high 23 kills and hit an impressive .327 while adding eight digs and a block, defensively. Teresa Garza and KC McMahon added 11 kills each, while Sarah Holcomb had five and a team-best six total blocks while coming off the bench for UW. Tierney Barlow, meanwhile, chipped in with nine kills and had five blocks in the loss.

Hailey Zuroske was fantastic defensively for the Cowgirls, notching a career-best 25 digs. Zuroske was also one of four Cowgirls to have an ace in the contest. Kasia Partyka once again tallied a double-double as she tied a career-high with 59 assists and had 15 digs. Garza, meanwhile, recorded her first-career double-double as she had 10 digs against the Wolf Pack.

Next week, Wyoming hits the road where it has had its most success in 2022. The Cowgirls travel to face San Diego State at 8 p.m., MT Thursday, Oct. 13 before closing with a Saturday contest at 2 p.m., at Fresno State.