Cowgirls Face Wildcats in NIVC Great 8 Wednesday
Photo courtesy University of Wyoming Athletics
First serve is 6 p.m., in Tucson
LARAMIE, Wyo. (Dec. 9, 2024) – The Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team travels down to Tucson, Arizona for the Great 8 of the NIVC. The Cowgirls will face-off with host Arizona at 6 p.m., Wednesday, December 11. This will be the second consecutive season the Cowgirls play in the NIVC Great 8.
Wyoming (17-12) is coming off a pair of victories in the first two rounds of the NIVC in Laramie. The Cowgirls opened the tournament with a four-set win over Idaho State before rallying to win in five over Utah Valley in the Super 16. Offensively, Emma Winter led the Cowgirls with 27 kills in the two wins while defensively, Sarah Holcomb continued her impressive season as she tallied 15 total blocks in the first two rounds. Kasia Partyka orchestrated the UW offense to the tune of 99 assists, averaging 11 per set.
Partyka is up to fifth on the all-time career assists list in program history and is just four shy of moving into fourth on the list. Holcomb’s 1.38 blocks per set in 2024 leads the Mountain West and ranks 23rd in the nation while her 164 total blocks are eighth, nationally. As a team, the Cowgirls’ 2.66 blocks per set ranks 20th in the country while their 317 total blocks are 15th in the nation.
Arizona was one of the "First Four Out" of the NCAA Tournament and comes into Wednesday 21-9 overall and is 11-4 at home. The Wildcats are led by First Team All-Big 12 honorees in Jaelyn Hodge and Jordan Wilson. Avery Scoggins was a second team selection while Scoggins and Carlie Cisneros were named to the Big 12 All-Rookie Team.
Wilson leads the Wildcats with 400 kills and 3.81 per set while Hodge is averaging 3.77 per and has 388 kills in 2024. Scoggins, meanwhile, orchestrates the offense from her setter position with 10.46 assists per set. Arizona is hitting .255 as a team this season. Arizona is on a current eight-match winning streak.
If the Cowgirls defeat Arizona, they would then play the winner of Arkansas State and Northern Colorado in the Fab Four of the NIVC Thursday at 6 p.m.