Cowgirls Best Air Force on the Road
Photo courtesy University of Wyoming Athletics
Holcomb, Lauterwasser and Partyka lead the way
USAFA, Colo. (Oct. 24, 2024) – The Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team prevailed in four sets Thursday night on the road at Air Force. After dropping the first set to the Falcons, 29-27, the Cowgirls rallied to win the next three sets by scores of 25-11, 25-18 and 27-25.
Wyoming (12-7, 4-5 MW) came up just short in a hard-fought, marathon opening set, but responded in a big way to win the second and third sets. The Cowgirls led wire-to-wire in winning those two sets in dominant fashion, taking a two sets to one lead in the match. In the fourth, neither team could grab control of the set, but the Falcons appeared to have it in hand late, going up 23-19 late in the set.
Facing set point trailing 24-21 in the fourth, the Cowgirls had a huge response, going on a 4-0 run to take a 25-24 lead in the set. After Air Force tied the set with a kill at 25 apiece, back-to-back kills from Paige Lauterwasser clinched the set and the match for the Brown & Gold. Lauterwasser ended the night with a match-high 19 kills in the win while hitting an efficient .324. Lauterwasser also tied a career-high with four total blocks against the Falcons.
Sarah Holcomb and Abi Milby both ended up with double-digit kills, tallying 10 apiece. Holcomb, who hit .444 on the night, recorded her second-career double-double as she matched a career-best with 11 total blocks to lead the way for the Cowgirls defensively at the net. Kayla Mazzocca finished with nine kills and a pair of blocks while Emma Winter added eight kills and set a career-high with 12 digs.
Sierra Grizzle once again led the way in the back row for UW as she averaged better than five digs per set, ending the evening with 21 digs in all. Kasia Partyka paced the squad with 44 assists in the victory and also added seven digs, three kills and a pair of blocks. Skylar Erickson accounted for half of the Cowgirls’ four service aces with two.
Overall, Wyoming hit .245 in the match and held the Falcons to just a .155 clip. In the final three sets Thursday, the Cowgirls hit .294. Wyoming enjoyed a 13-5 advantage in total blocks on the night and doubled-up the Falcons at the service line as AFA had just two aces. UW tallied 11 more kills (60-49) than the Falcons and had 15 more digs (64-49).
Thursday brought an end to Wyoming’s three-match road swing. The Cowgirls return action and return home for a Saturday contest against New Mexico. First serve against the Lobos is set for noon inside the UniWyo Sports Complex.