Mackenzie Thomas – Staff Writer
Following three losses on the road, the Cowgirls are headed to Omaha, Nebraska to play in the BlueJay Invitational Sept. 20.
This upcoming tournament comes after the Cowgirls suffered three losses during the South Dakota Classic over the weekend.
Wyoming was unable to defeat Iowa despite fighting to take the first set. The Cowgirls were able to take the second set of the game 25-18, losing the other games in just a matter of a few points.
Following their loss against Iowa, the Cowgirls were able to win the first set 26-24, but lost the next three sets to South Dakota.
The Cowgirls came up short in their match against the University of California Davis. UC-Davis players took the first set 25-23, the Cowgirls won the second set 25-23 after taking the three final points of the set.
The third set between Wyoming and UC-Davis was a back and forth match at the beginning of the game until UC-Davis pulled ahead with five points in a row and won the set 25-21. The Cowgirls won set four 25-22. Both teams had taken two sets in the five-set game. UC-Davis led the fifth set and ultimately winning 15-10.
Overall, the Cowgirls had a hitting average of .251 during the UC-Davis game as freshman outside hitter Hailey Zuroske led Wyoming’s defense with 12 kills. Junior outside hitter Tara Traphagan followed Zuroske’s lead with a total of 11 kills during the game, while sophomore middle blocker Jackie McBride had 10 kills.
Wyoming had a strong presence at the net as their hitting average was complemented by 11 total blocks during this game. Setters Mackenzie Coates and Kyra Slavik both helped their hitters with a total of 28 and 22 assists respectively.
Senior libero Madi Fields led the back row defense with a total of 21 digs as freshman defensive specialist Erika Jones followed Fields’ lead with 12 digs. Both Mackenzie Coates and Kiahlei Yaste had a total of 5 digs each during the game.
The Cowgirls will return to the court to play Creighton University and Wichita State in the Bluejay tournament.
