Wyoming Volleyball Kicks Off Cowgirl Classic With Win

The University of Wyoming volleyball team used depth and versatility to earn a straight set victory, 25-16, 25-14, 25-23, over Illinois State in their first match of the UniWyo Cowgirl Classic on Friday. Sophomore setter Rachel Keyes ran a solid offense that the Redbirds could simply not slow down.

Having Keyes, a 5'7" player, in the front row can be a big risk, but the Cowgirls (5-3) didn't have much choice as true freshman setter Whitney Smith was sporting a brace on her right wrist. But Keyes played in the same energetic, competitive way she always seems to and even got a block assist. Head Coach Carrie Yerty was very proud of the way Keyes stepped up to play all the way around.

I was pleased with Rachel, she did a great job running a 5-1 and really didn't even seem to be too big of a hindrance blocking wise, so that was really nice.
-Coach Yerty

Unfortunately for the Cowgirls, Smith is not the only sidelined player at the moment as sophomore middle blocker Reese Plante is still recovering from mono. Junior Makenzie Bartsch got the start and had 5 block assists. Plante was able to appear in the third set and got 3 kills.

As a team, the Cowgirls hit .361 for match with junior outside hitter Jodi Purdy leading the way with 14 kills. Erin Kirby continues to grow at the middle blocker position and tallied 9 kills without any hitting errors for .750 hitting percent. UW outblocked ISU 5.0-4.0.

Illinois State was held to a .098 hitting percent. LeighAnn Hranka seemed to be the only hitter with good rhythm for the Redbirds and got 15 kills to lead the match.

Illinois State has had a great start for this year, they have a very veteraned team and unfortunately for them, they didn't show up and play like they could. But it was a really great opportunity for us to beat a nice team and to play aggressively and feel good about it.
-Coach Yerty

Friday night the Cowgirls will continue tournament play in the UniWyo Sports Complex at 7 p.m. against Georgia State. They will conclude the Cowgirl Classic Saturday with a 1 p.m. game against Idaho State.

This past week we've been talking about our 3 C's: Communication, Consistency and Culture (the kind of culture we want to be) and today they did a great job of really showing what kind of a team they can be.
-Coach Yerty