The Cowgirls have rolled through their first two games in their home tournament, taking down both Coppin State and Albany in their first two games with a matchup against Utah on tap tomorrow.
The Cowgirls opened up the tournament by making quick work of last year’s MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) champions in the Coppin State Eagles. The Cowgirls cruised by the Eagles in the first two sets, taking both of those sets by a score of 25-14. The second set saw the Cowgirls go on an impressive 15-4 scoring run after the Eagles had tied them up at 10 a piece. The Eagles would make things interesting in the third and final set, but the Cowgirls would ultimately prevail.
Sophomore outside hitter Paige Lauterwasser tallied a team high 13 kills and was assisted by senior Kasia Partyka, as the all-Mountain West setter had 36 assists in a rather quick dismantling of the Eagles. Defensively, senior middle blocker Kayla Mazzocca and the Cowgirls had their way at the net, as Mazzocca had nine of the Cowgirls’ 12 blocks while the Eagles weren’t able to tally a single block. Sophomore libero Sierra Grizzle led the Cowgirls in the back row notching 17 digs.
The Albany Great Danes wouldn’t have much more luck against the Cowgirls in the UniWyo Sports Complex, as the Cowgirls would clean them up as quickly as they did the Eagles, taking the game in three sets.
The Cowgirls would jump out to an early 10-4 lead in the first set, never looking back on their way to a 25-18 win. The Cowgirls would again jump out to a heavy early advantage in the second set, this time at 9-3. The Cowgirls would clean up Albany a point earlier this time around, winning the second set 25-17. The Great Danes would put up a bigger fight in the third set, but the Cowgirls would still be able to sweep them up in the third set by a score of 25-20.
Lauterwasser impressed once again, garnering another 13 kills, tying sophomore outside hitter Emma Winter with the same amount for the team high. Winter also hit an impressive .684 percent at the net. Partyka was in typical form once again, marking 41 assists against the Great Danes.
The Cowgirls will wrap up the UniWyo invite as well as their non-conference schedule against Utah tomorrow, with the game set for a 1 p.m. start.
