The Wyoming Cowgirls were headed for a clean sweep of the Rams in Laramie, but after a CSU rally, they grinded out a win in the fifth set to take the Border War.
“This was a team win,” said head coach Kaylee Prigge after the match. “It takes everyone.”
In their opening match of Mountain West conference play, the Cowgirls got off to a hot start, taking the first two sets 25-20 and 25-21. Jillian Gregory was sharp, getting 8 kills in the first two sets, while Sarah Holcomb provided dynamic play with 7 kills and 6 blocks, lifting the Cowgirls over the Rams early.
With their backs against the wall in the third, the Rams rallied however, inching away from the Cowgirls to build a 15-10 lead. From that point, it was a back and forth battle, but the early padding that the Rams earned was too much for the Pokes to overcome and CSU ran away with the set, winning 25-18. Off the kills of Halle Jameson with assists from Erin Debiec of the Rams, the match stood at 2-1.
In the fourth set, the Cowgirls came out swinging early, but after being up 7-5, the Rams went on a 8-1 run and the Cowgirls found themselves down 13-8 as CSU built on the momentum from the third set. In the blink of an eye, the Rams were on the brink of leveling the match, up 21-14. Not long after, they put it away 25-19 and sent the Border War into a fifth and final set. The Cowgirls had taken the early lead, but the match had completely shifted to the Rams.
The final set didn’t get off to a good start for the Cowgirls, with the Rams serving up an ace to earn the first point. Wyoming was unfazed however, and quickly made it 5-3, grinding out every crucial point. The blocking from the Cowgirls was superb and after adding on to their lead to make it 7-4, the emotion in Laramie had swung back to the Cowgirls and the fans packed into the arena.
The Rams wouldn’t go away however, and no lead was safe enough for Wyoming. A 9-5 margin quickly disappeared after a 4-0 Rams run, knotting it up as the match reached its climax. A monumental effort by the Cowgirls helped them grab a 13-11 lead with the match on the line, and after a clutch Paige Lauterwasser kill made it 14-11, the match was within the Cowgirls grasp. The Rams didn’t lay down without a fight, but another Lauterwasser kill put the Border War away for good as the arena exploded in cheers.
After their lead had disappeared, the Cowgirls still were able to grab a win and put together in the final set.
“We just wanted to play Wyoming volleyball,” said Prigge. “I think we really found our team identity in that fifth set.”
The fans fed energy into the team all night and no matter the score, they were there.
“I would put the UniWyo up there as the best environment in the country,” said Prigge. “There’s nothing like it.”
Jillian Gregory ended the night with the team high 16 kills, while Paige Lauterwasser had 11, with two coming in the clutch down the stretch. Maddy Stucky and Sara Quigley had 30 and 26 assists respectively to anchor the Pokes, and Sarah Holcomb’s 7 blocks helped the Cowgirls ultimately overcome the Rams.
The Cowgirls will be back in Laramie on Sept 27 for a tilt with Air Force, and they will look to build on their good start to conference play.
