The University of Wyoming volleyball beat Boise State 3 – 1 this past Saturday, October 13 to pick up their fourth straight win in a row.
The Cowgirls were led by junior Tara Traphagan, who had 14 kills and two digs for a total of 16 points.
“It was a little bit of a grind,” Traphagan said. “We wish we could have played a bit crisper in some situations. That’s a skill that we have, is when things aren’t going our way we find ways to win. We have confidence in our abilities and we just find ways to score in different places when something’s not working, and we find ways to score when our setters might not be as comfortable.”
The Cowgirls started the match with a promising win over Boise State in the first set 25 – 18. Each team had 12 kills in the first set.
In the second set the Cowgirls fell off a little bit, allowing Boise State to win 25 – 21. Boise State had 16 kills in this set and the Cowgirls had 11.
“It didn’t feel like we were in the rhythm that we are capable of playing in,” head coach Chad Callihan said.
In the third set the Cowgirls had 16 kills, as opposed to Boise State’s nine. The Cowgirls won that set 25 – 21. The Cowgirls have been stronger in the second half of most matches this season.
“I don’t know that we won that one as much as we escaped,” coach Callihan said. “ I understand that we’re going to have some down matches sometimes, but credit to them for the way they played at the end.”
In the final set, the Cowgirls just barely beat Boise State 27 – 25 to win the match. The Cowgirls had 16 kills in the final match, for a total of 55 throughout the four sets. Boise State had 17 kills in the final set and had 53 over the four sets.
“A lot on the line with a lot of pressure, and I thought that we played some of our best volleyball there,” coach Callihan said. “I’d like to see us be able to come out and do that at the beginning.”
The Cowgirls play UNLV this Thursday in Las Vegas and New Mexico on Saturday, October 20 in Albuquerque. They will return home on Thursday, October 25 to take on Fresno State at 6:30 pm MST.
