Road warriors

FRESNO, Calif., -- For the second-consecutive match on the road this week, the Wyoming volleyball team’s offense helped propel them to a victory, as the Cowgirls defeated Fresno State Saturday afternoon in four sets.

Set scores went 25-22, 25-21, 16-25 and 25-19.

The Cowgirls (17-8, 12- MW) hit a season-high in a four-set match, .364 in the win while holding the Bulldogs (12-14, 5-9 MW) to a .237 clip. Wyoming also had a huge edge at the net, recording 13 total blocks to FSU’s four. However, 17 service aces from the Bulldogs did most of the damage on the day against UW.

Tara Traphagan led the way with 13 kills and hit .500 in the win while Halie McArdle added 11 and KC McMahon had 10 kills. Jackie McBride and Faith Waitsman each chipped in with seven kills and hit .467 and .545, respectively. McBride also led the way with 10 total blocks in the contest.

Mackenzie Coates led the way with 40 assists on the day while adding four block assists and five digs. Madi Fields led the back row with 20 digs and led the Cowgirls with a pair of service aces. McArdle, meanwhile, added 10 digs to register her second double-double of the season.

The Cowgirls controlled much of the first set, leading by as many as six, twice. However, the Bulldogs would cut the lead down to just 20-19, before a 3-1 spurt by the Cowgirls gave them some breathing room before closing out the set.

In the second set, Wyoming had to rally to go up 2-0. Fresno State led late in the set 19-16 before the Cowgirls went on a 5-0 run to take a 21-19 lead and then finished off the second with a quick 4-2 run to push the Bulldogs to the brink.

FSU would not go away quietly however, as it controlled much of the third set to stave off the sweep. In the fourth, UW scored five of the first six points to take an early lead before Fresno State eventually claimed an 11-10 lead. After the Cowgirls were able to break a 12-12 tie, they didn’t trail the rest of the match and closed the fourth with a 13-7 advantage to take the victory.

Wyoming returns home next week now for its final two home matches. The Cowgirls will face Boise State at 6:30 p.m., Thursday and will host Senior Night Friday at 6:30 against Nevada.

The Nevada match was moved up a day from its original date due to UW hosting the Wyoming High School Football Championships next weekend. - University of Wyoming press release