Noah Peschio
Attempting to lock down second place in the Mountain West Conference, the University of Wyoming Cowgirls squared off against the Nevada Wolfpack. The Cowgirls came into the night at 14-2 in the conference and 19-8 overall, putting them in second place behind Colorado State.
Coming off a player of the week accolade, Jackie McBride is playing well.
“We’re looking to establish good defense early and compete through every set,” McBride said Thursday before the match.
The Cowgirls opened the first set going behind 22-12. Wyoming then rallied back within four points, but the difference was too much to overcome and Nevada eventually took the set 25-19.
Service errors early in the set allowed Nevada to get out to a quick lead, and despite great efforts, the Cowgirls were unable to find the momentum to gain the lead. The Wolfpack led for the entire set.
The brightest spot of the set was senior libero Madi Fields. With five digs in the first frame, she surpassed Becky Stewart for the all-time leader in digs in program history. She finished the match with 21 digs, bringing her career total to 1,701.
Wyoming found themselves in a close battle in set two. While they trailed for the whole set, they kept it very close. The Cowgirls dropped set two 25-23. With a perfectly called timeout, the Cowgirls went on a 6-0 run to put pressure on the Wolfpack in the final moments of the set but falling just short.
The third set was reminiscent of a heavy-weight fight. Back and forth, both teams trading blows with the score flipping in favor of the two foes. Wyoming gained the upper hand in the second half of the set going on a 9-0 run to go up 22-15.
The Cowgirls finished off Nevada to take the third set 25-19. Attacking the net 45 times, and only committing six errors, Wyoming played a near-flawless set.
Carrying the momentum into the fourth set, after a back and forth start, Wyoming jumped out and held a lead the entire set finishing 25-18 and tying the match at 2-2, forcing a fifth set.
Wyoming came out with a quick 5-0 lead in the fifth set. They held that lead and dominated the final frame to complete the comeback and take the match three sets to two. This is the Cowgirls fifth straight win over Nevada.
Freshman Emersen Cyza tied her season and career-high of 13 kills, leading the Cowgirls on the night.
Jackie McBride scored double-digit points for the 23rd time this season, however, KC McMahon and Cyza led the Cowgirls in points scored each putting up 14.5.
Kyra Slavik racked up 41 assists on the night, bringing her season total to an even 300.
With one more game against a struggling San Jose State on Saturday afternoon, Wyoming has the chance to finish the season strong at a 16-2 record in the conference.
