Courtesy of Wyoming Athletics-
GREELEY, Colo. (Nov. 30, 2023) – The Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team extended their season Thursday afternoon behind the strength of a four-set victory over South Dakota in the opening round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC). Set scores went 26-24, 23-25, 25-19 and 25-16. The first two rounds of the tournament in Wyoming’s four-team “pod” are hosted by Northern Colorado.
After getting off to a fast start in the first set, the Cowgirls (21-9) would eventually fall behind in the opening frame, trailing by as many as five points (20-15) and as late as 23-20. However, UW would respond, ending the set on a 5-1 run to grab the early lead in the match.
In the second, USD (18-11) would again grab momentum and trailed only briefly in the set and led by as many as seven points. The Cowgirls would make a late rally in the set to tie things at 21-all before the Coyotes would close things out to even the match at a set apiece. The third set was when the Cowgirls would enforce their will on South Dakota, leading for much of the set and then eventually distancing themselves down the stretch, turning a 15-13 lead into a 25-19 victory.
The fourth and final set was all Cowgirls. Wyoming trailed just once in the set, the very first point, and jumped out to an early 7-1 lead. From there, UW would extend the lead out to as many as nine points, at 17-8 and would only let USD get to within six points in the fourth. With the win, it marked the second consecutive trip to the NIVC for the Cowgirls where they picked up a victory. It is also just the second Wyoming postseason win since 1989.
The Cowgirls were potent offensively in the win, hitting .344 as a team and recording nine more kills (56-47) than the Coyotes. UW was better in most facets of the match, as it double-up USD in service aces, 10-5 and had a 7-5 block advantage. The Cowgirls also held South Dakota to just a .178 hitting efficiency.
Rylee Schulz had a big game to lead UW on offense. Schulz tallied a match-high 17 kills and hit .395 on the day. Sarah Holcomb had 13 and hit a robust .455. Corin Carruth added nine kills while Paige Lauterwasser and Evelyn Udezue added seven and six, respectively. Kasia Partyka set up the offense with 37 assists and added 10 digs to record her 11th double-double of 2023.
Defensively, Sierra Grizzle led the back row with 14 digs while Skylar Erickson added nine. At the net, Holcomb paced the Cowgirls with four blocking assists while Lauterwasser, Partyka and Udezue added three each. At the service line, Grizzle also led the Cowgirls with four service aces while Udezue chipped in with two in her first-career start.
With the victory, the Cowgirls advance to face the winner of Valparaiso and host-UNC at 6 p.m., Friday.
-WYO-
