Courtesy photo by UW Athletics by Coltin Merrill
Laramie WY – Tonight did not go the way the Cowgirls wanted. The Cowgirls are coming off a 5-set win last night, and tonight they were out in 4. South Dakota took the match 25-15, 25-17, 15-25, and 25 –20. Wyoming finished the match with 46 kills and 23 attack errors on 137 attempts for a .168 hitting percentage. South Dakota hit .248 with 47 kills and 16 errors on 125 attempts.
Paige Lauterwasser led the Cowgirls offensively with 14 kills and 12 digs. Emma Winter had a great night with 10 kills and Rylee Heinz finished with eight kills and a team-best of .438 hitting percentage.
The night showed the USD was in control from the first serve. Both opening sets of Wyoming were able to stay close to the Coyotes but were able to take off fast. The Coyotes did struggle in the 3rd set, and the Cowgirls were able to pull out a win, but that win was not enough. The Cowgirls broke away from a 7-7 tie behind a Sara Quigley service ace, a Lauterwasser kill, and a South Dakota attack error. Wyoming continued to stretch the lead and went ahead with double digits.
The Cowgirls closed the set 25-15 after a South Dakota attack error, cutting the match deficit to 2-1 and keeping the comeback alive.
But unfortunately, the 3rd set would not be enough for the cowgirls. The Coytes got into the 4th set, and it was a repeat of the first 3; they looked off, and the Cowgirls caught up for a moment but fell to the Coyotes 25-20.
Not the night the Cowgirls wanted, but they have one more game at the UniWyo Invite and that is on Saturday against Colorado State University at 7pm.
