Gold Squad Defeats Brown in Annual Scrimmage

Cowgirls open regular-season Aug. 28

 

LARAMIE – Head coach Chad Callihan and the Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team concluded the preseason with the annual Brown and Gold scrimmage Friday night in the UniWyo Sports Complex.

The Gold squad held on to defeat the Brown squad in five sets (25-23, 25-19, 21-25, 21-25, 15-10) in what is the Cowgirls’ final tune-up before the regular season opener next week.

The Gold squad was led by junior Laura Beach who recorded 16 kills on the night. Junior Kayla Slofkiss had a solid scrimmage as she added 15 kills to go along with 13 digs.

Junior Courtney Chacon had a game-high 50 assists and nine digs while redshirt freshman Laurel Place added 10 kills for the Gold squad. Senior Allison Waldvogel had 13 digs for the Gold squad as redshirt freshman Kelly O’Brien contributed with 11 digs.

Senior Bridget Shanahan paced the Brown squad with 18 kills. She also had seven digs while sophomore Lily Austin recorded 26 digs during the scrimmage.

Senior Kayla Henderson contributed 17 kills for the Brown squad as redshirt freshman Emily Hines and freshman Reed Copeland had nine and seven kills, respectively. Hines also had 10 digs for the Brown squad as did sophomore Dani Westfall.

The Cowgirls begin non-conference play next weekend by hosting the Rumble in the Rockies. Wyoming will open the 2015 campaign against No. 14 Ohio State on Friday, Aug. 28, at 6:30 p.m. (MT) in the Arena-Auditorium. They will then take on South Dakota and Butler the following day at 9:30 a.m., and 7 p.m., respectively.

 

 

Cowgirls Battle Grizzlies to Double-Overtime Draw in Season Opener

MISSOULA, Mont. – The University of Wyoming women’s soccer team outshot Montana 11-7 on Friday night, including 6-1 in shots on goal, but ended its season opener with a 0-0 double-overtime tie against the Grizzlies. Sophomores Shaina Ashouri and Summer Halle paced the Cowgirls with two shots each.

“Our fight and effort tonight was really good,” UW head coach Pete Cuadrado said. “It’s never easy to go on the road and play a good team like Montana. A lot of positives tonight, but some stuff we need to work on. When we get that many good looks, we have to get on one of those and put it in the back of the net.”

The Cowgirls (0-0-1) had solid offensive pressure in their first road contest of the season, but could not find the back of the net. Wyoming racked up four more shots and five more shots on goal than Montana (0-0-1), while earning a 7-4 advantage in corners and committing five less fouls.

All four of Ashouri and Halle’s shots were directed on goal, while freshmen Jessie Gentle and Annika Clayton posted two shots as well. One of Gentle’s efforts went on goal.

Sophomore goalkeeper Georgia Rowntree started and made one save in 45 minutes, while freshman Cassidy Entsminger finished the final 65 minutes for the combined shutout.

Wyoming continues its season at Hawai’i on Thursday at 11 p.m. MT.

 

 

Cowgirl Volleyball Picked to Finish Fourth in MW Preseason Poll; Shanahan selected to preseason team

Colorado Springs, Colo. – The University of Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team was picked to finish fourth in the Mountain West Preseason Coaches’ Poll, the league announced Thursday.

The Cowgirls, who finished in third place a year ago, garnered 77 total points with one first-place vote in the poll. Colorado State (seven first-place votes) was selected to win the conference title with 97 points while UNLV and Boise State tied for second place with 83 points. The Rebels collected two first-place votes as Boise State received the final first-place vote.

Additionally on Thursday, senior outside hitter Bridget Shanahan was named to the All-MW Preseason Team. Shanahan earned All-MW for the first time a year ago and is one of the top returning hitters in the league after she finished third in the MW in kills averaging 3.33 kills per set.

UW returns nine letterwinners including six starters from last year’s team that finished 23-8 overall and 12-6 in the MW. Also back are three redshirts along with four incoming freshmen.

In MW matches last season, junior middle blocker Laura Beach finished third in hitting percentage to earn All-MW honors, while junior setter Courtney Chacon finished seventh in assists and senior Allison Waldvogel was second in digs per set with 4.18 during MW play.

Wyoming gets its 2015 season underway next week when it hosts The Rumble in the Rockies. The Cowgirls open the campaign against No. 14 Ohio State on Friday, Aug. 28, at 6:30 p.m. (MT) in the Arena-Auditorium. They will then take on South Dakota and Butler the following day at 11:30 a.m., and 7 p.m., respectively.

The Cowgirls will host Pistol Pete’s Showdown: Presented by UniWyo Federal Credit Union, Sept. 11-12, where UW will welcome three teams that made last year’s NCAA tournament in Marquette, Kansas and Northern Colorado.

The final tune-up before MW play is the Wyoming Invite, Sept. 17-18, as Idaho State, McNeese State and Pepperdine come to Laramie.

The first weekend of MW matches will be at home on Thursday, Sept. 24 against Boise State and against Utah State on Saturday, Sept. 26. The final regular season matchup at home for the Cowgirls will be against Border War rival Colorado State on Tuesday, Nov. 24.

 

2015 MW Preseason Volleyball Coaches’ Poll

Place – Team (First-place votes) – Points

1 Colorado State (7) 97   

T2UNLV (2) 83

T2Boise State (1) 83   

4 Wyoming (1) 77     

5 New Mexico 67     

6 San Diego State 58   

7 Air Force 41 

8 Utah State 39     

9 Fresno State 26

10 Nevada 20

11 San Jose State 14