Match Results
- Wyoming def. UNLV 3-2, (25-13, 18-25, 20-25, 26-24, 15-13)
- Wyoming moves to 6-7 (1-0 Mountain West), UNLV falls to 4-10 (0-1 Mountain West)
- Laramie, Wyoming
- Match Stats
Press Release
Courtesy of Wyoming Athletics
Trailing 2-1 to UNLV entering the fourth set, the University of Wyoming volleyball team rallied to win the final two sets to begin Mountain West play on Thursday night. Redshirt freshman Jackie McBride and sophomore Tara Traphagan led the UW (6-7, 1-0 MW) attack over the Rebels (4-9, 0-1 MW) inside the UniWyo Sports Complex.
“We came out in the first set with a 25-13 win, which was a great way to set the tone,” UW head coach Chad Callihan said. “But we then go high error in the second set and give one away. We are a young team trying to learn how to play consistently. We know there will be nights were we don’t have our best game, but we can still find ways to grit out a win. I think we found a way tonight, and were able to make a couple plays down the stretch. With the exception of a couple of errors in the fifth set, I thought we played good volleyball to close the match.”
McBride posted a career-high 13 kills and five total blocks for the Brown and Gold. Traphagan added 15 kills and was one away from tying her career-best in blocks with eight. Freshman Marissa Harmon recorded her team-leading third double-double of the season against UNLV with 41 assists and ten digs. Along with senior Emily Lewis, Harmon recorded seven kills during the match.
For the 13th time this season, sophomore Madi Fields topped Wyoming with 17 digs. She also added six assists, as senior Lily Austin added 11 digs for UW. Sophomore Halie McArdle chipped in 13 digs and was one kill from her first career double-double. It was also the third-straight match McArdle has posted double-digit digs.
Sophomore Reed Copeland added nine total blocks for the Cowgirls on Thursday night. She also recorded eight kills, as senior Marley Taylor had four kills to help complete the comeback. Redshirt sophomore Cori Aafedt dished out nine assists, in addition to three digs, while senior Shelby Johnson added four digs for the Brown and Gold.
Set One
Wyoming didn’t seem to have any trouble with UNLV during the opening set. UW jumped out to a 9-3 lead before UNLV called timeout. Wyoming would go on a 16-4 run to take the set, 25-13. Using a .407 attacking percentage, six Cowgirls had at least one kill to begin the match. Traphagan led the way with six. Harmon had ten assists, as Copeland added three blocks.
Set Two
The second set was quite different from the first, as Wyoming hit .085 with nine errors. The Rebels took the set, 25-18, to even the set score at intermission. Traphagan and Copeland each had four kills in the second frame, while Fields had seven digs.
Set Three
UNLV used an early 4-0 run to take a 7-3 lead before Wyoming called timeout. The Rebels remained in control throughout the set, and won 25-20 for a 2-1 set lead. McBride had a team-best four kills in the third stanza. Harmon added ten assists and three digs for UW.
Set Four
The Cowgirls held UNLV to a .077 hitting clip in set four. Behind five kills from McBride, three from Lewis and two each from Harmon and Copeland, Wyoming took the fourth set in extras, 26-24. In what was a back and forth set, Wyoming outlasted 12 separate scoring ties for the set win.
Set Five
Taylor opened the final frame with a kill to give UW the early lead. The Cowgirls seemed in control until UNLV tied the set at ten. The Cowgirls held the first set point, 14-12, and after a Rebel kill and a Cowgirl timeout, UW took the set 15-13 off a McArdle kill. Harmon, Traphagan, McArdle and Taylor each contributed two kills in the fifth set.
Up Next
The Cowgirls welcome New Mexico to Laramie on Saturday for a 1 p.m. MT first serve. Fans that show their Wyoming football vs. Hawai’i ticket, will receive $5 admission to the match.
“New Mexico is a little more experienced and have a few nice wins so far this season,” Callihan added. “They are 8-4 coming into tonight so they know how to win and will be competitive. I do think we matchup with them and as long as we cut down on the errors and it will be a really good match.”
Quick Notes
–Thursday’s win is the third-straight conference opening victory for the Cowgirls. UW defeated Boise State and San Jose State at home in 2015 and 2016, respectively. It was also the sixth win out of the last seven matches against UNLV.
-Callihan now has 91 wins while head coach at Wyoming. The only former Cowgirl coach that has more wins at UW than Callihan is Hall of Fame coach Mike English, with 124 career wins.
-Fields set a career-high last weekend with 30 digs against Oral Roberts. With her 17 digs against UNLV, she has led the team in every match this season.
-Copeland and McBride are each within the top-ten in the conference in blocks. Together the two had 14 tonight against the Lobos.
Press Release
Courtesy of UNLV Athletics
The UNLV volleyball team (4-10, 0-1 MW) and the Wyoming Cowgirls (6-7, 1-0 MW) kicked off their Mountain West campaigns with a hard-fought, five-set match at the UniWyo Sports Complex Thursday night. Unfortunately, it was the host Cowgirls that came out victorious after they rallied from a 2-1 deficit in the contest that was decided by set scores of 25-13, 18-25, 20-25, 26-24, 15-13.
Wyoming outhit UNLV by 52 points (.213 to .161), and threw down 10 more kills (65-55) and also committed one more error (30-29) in three more attack attempts (164-161). The Cowgirls had their best hitting efforts in the first and fifth frames with .407 and .643 efforts, the latter of which was helped by nine kills and zero errors in 14 swings. UW; however, was limited to .085 to .167 hitting displays between the second and fourth stanzas. UNLV topped out with a .300 showing in the fifth and also hit .293 and .200 in the second and third, respectively, but hit below .100 in the first and fourth.
THE TURNING POINT: With the score knotted at 11-all in the fifth set, Wyoming’s Marissa Harmon pushed her team ahead for good with a kill and a service ace. The two-point edge was enough for the Cowgirls, as they and UNLV swapped point for point until Halie McArdle clinched the set and match for UW with a kill.
STAT OF THE GAME: After it was held to a combined .122 hitting efficiency with 26 errors during the second, third and fourth sets, Wyoming registered a staggering .643 effort in the fifth and final frame.
REBELS OF THE GAME: UNLV middle blockers Ashley Owensand Elsa Descamps tallied 26 of the team’s 55 kills and were involved in 10 of its 15 total team blocks. They both hit .333, although the former had 12 kills to the latter’s 14. Owens added nine total blocks (four solo) to Descamps’ six total blocks (one solo) and six digs.
QUOTABLE: “I’m really proud of our kids tonight,” said head coach Cindy Fredrick. “This is such a tough environment to play in and we started off really bad. The second set we turned it around and played very well. Elsa (Descamps) and Ashley (Owens) played a great match. We should have taken that fourth set, but this was a really good effort tonight.”
REBEL NOTES: *With her nine total blocks (four solo, five assisted), Ashley Owens moved into a tie for eighth place with Candice Thomas (2010-12) with 49 solo blocks in UNLV’s all-time record book. Owens sits fourth in both total blocks (385) and assisted blocks (336).
*With her six total blocks (one solo, five assisted), Elsa Descampsmoved into a tie for ninth place with Amber Graham (1998-2000) with 242 total blocks in UNLV’s all-time record book.
*With the win, Wyoming moves within one match of tying UNLV in the all-time, head-to-head series, which the Rebels lead 23-22.
*Thursday’s match was head coach Cindy Fredrick’s 199th at UNLV, and the 200th will come at Colorado State Saturday. Only Deitre Collins (225 matches) and Allison Keeley (204) have graced the Rebel sideline more than Fredrick, the program’s winningest head coach.
NEXT FOR THE REBELS: The Rebels stay out on the road and will travel to Fort Collins, Colorado, to face the No. 22 Colorado State Rams Saturday afternoon (12:00 pm PT).
REBELS RETURN HOME: Following Saturday’s match at Colorado State, UNLV will return home and open its portion of Mountain West play at the Cox Pavilion on September 28 against Utah State (6:00 pm). The Rebels will host Boise State two days later (September 30/3:00 pm).
TICKETS: Single-match and season tickets for the 2017 UNLV volleyball season are on sale now by visiting www.UNLVTickets.com or calling 702-739-FANS. In addition, special ticket pricing is available for groups of at least 20 by contacting Dan Johnson at [email protected] or calling 702-895-1885.
Season tickets start at $40 for faculty, staff and seniors (62+) and $50 for adults. All single-match tickets can be purchased in-advance and online for as low as $5. As always, kids 12 and under and UNLV students with a valid Rebel Card are admitted for free.
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