The Wyoming Cowgirls volleyball team improved their record over the weekend to 7-0. The girls went undefeated and won in the UniWyo Cowgirl classic as they beat South Alabama, Ball State, and Montana.
The Cowgirls beat the South Alabama Jaguars, sweeping them in sets of (25-16, 25-13, 25-20).
Head Coach Chad Callihan said of the match, “Our serving game was a big key today. We did a nice job hitting our zones and putting pressure on their serve/receive. We’ve been fortunate so far that we can run a diverse offense. All the players can score from a variety of zones, which allows us to run some different things and make it difficult for our opponent.”
The second game on Friday was a longer match for the Cowgirls, but the team was still able to win the match in four sets of (25-16, 20-25, 25-18, 25-21). The team played in front of a crowd of 1,135 — the biggest since the Cowgirls played Colorado State in 2003.
Coach Callihan said on the record attendance, “I thought the players did a great job and the crowd was fantastic. I think we got a little over-excited with how big that crowd was and we haven’t played in an environment like that this season. We made some uncharacteristic errors because we were overly excited. We did a good job of managing it and taking advantage of opportunities when we needed them. I like the direction we are headed.”
The star of the Ball State match was sophomore Laura Beach, who had 12.5 points and 5 blocks in the match.
“We’ve had a few kids play well, but (Laura Beach) has been exceptional and a steady force. She continued with that tonight and Ball State tried everything they could to contain her. A lot of credit to her and all the hard work she has put into it,” said Callihan
The Cowgirls rounded out the weekend by winning the UniWyo Tournament against Montana in three straight sets of (25-14, 26-24, 25-8). This was the second time the Cowgirls faced the Montana Grizzlies, and Head Coach Callihan knew that it was going to be tough. “We talked (about) a team seeing you a second time around [requires] making adjustments and doing things differently, which [is what] Montana did today.”
Wyoming got the win, making it 14 straight wins from this past season to now.
Coach Callihan said of the streak, “We’ve been on a nice run this season… between last season and this year, the personnel is completely different. I’m excited about the start we’ve had: didn’t play as well this weekend, but I think playing in front of the crowd, we just didn’t manage the emotions as well. It is good for us to learn from it, [as] we still have a fairly young team on the floor.”
Beach, senior Erin Kirby, and junior Bridget Shanahan were three players from Wyoming that were selected for the all-tournament team, with Bridget Shanahan taking home the MVP award.
Wyoming volleyball will look to keep their perfect record intact as they host the UniWyo Wyoming Invite on Friday, September 12. Wyoming will be playing host to Furman, Gonzaga, and Weber State.
