Cowgirl Volleyball Will Become Road Warriors

Friday, Sept. 6

5:30 p.m. MT - Wyoming vs. James Madison: GameTracker

Saturday, Sept. 7

8 a.m. MT - Wyoming vs. Presbyterian College: GameTracker

3 p.m. MT - Wyoming vs. CSU Bakersfield: GameTracker

The Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team and first-year head coach Chad Callihan embark on their first road trip of the season this weekend as they will take part in the James Madison Classic in Harrisonburg, Va. They will open up play against James Madison on Friday evening at 5:30 p.m. MT. The Cowgirls will then face off against Presbyterian College on Saturday morning at 8 a.m. MT and finish tournament play at 3 p.m. MT against CSU Bakersfield as the two teams will meet for the first time in school history.

The Cowgirls are coming off an impressive weekend at the UniWyo Wyoming Classic as they won all four contests as they downed Stetson, Idaho, Montana State and Drake. UW’s Erin Kirby was named MVP of the Tournament while senior Reese Plante and freshman Courtney Chacon were named to the All-Tournament Team.

Wyoming was impressive all weekend both offensively and defensively. The Cowgirls recorded an impressive 55 total blocks on the weekend as their opponents recorded only 27. Offensively, UW out-hit their opponents .247 to .161 as the team currently ranks second in the Mountain West in both categories.

Kirby was named Mountain West Player of the Week after her efforts. The recorded 52 kills (3.47 kps) and a team-leading 32 blocks (2.13 bps), while hitting .473 over the week. In the match against Stetson (W, 3-0), she recorded a season-high 11 total blocks, one short of her career high, and had 11 kills. She hit .500 against Idaho (W, 3-2) with 15 kills and eight blocks. Kirby finished with a career-high 16 kills against Montana State (W, 3-1), with seven blocks and a .483 hitting percentage, while hitting a season-high .769 (10k-0e-13ta) against Drake (W, 3-0).

James Madison comes into the weekend with a 1-2 overall record after opening their season last weekend at the Jefferson Cup in Charlottesville, Va. As they faced Montana, Virginia and Marshall, JMU dropped its first two contests of the season to Montana 3-2 (26-24,25-21,17-25,19-25,14-11) and Virginia 3-1 (23-25,25-23,15-25,24-26). The Bulldogs defeated Marshall 3-2 (26-24,25-21,17-25,19-25,15-11) to wrap up the tournament. JMU is led by MacKenzie Kleespies as she paces the offense averaging 3.00 kills per frame. She also leads the team digs averaging 3.36 per set. Freshman Janey Goodmann was named the Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the week as she added 29 kills for JMU to go along with 10 blocking assists. James Madison was picked to finish fifth in the CAA as it returns five players that saw action in 25-plus matches in 2012.

Presbyterian College comes into the weekend with an overall record of 1-4. The Blue Hose were in action on Tuesday night as they dropped a 3-2 affair to Appalachian State (21-25,30-28,25-18,16-25,12-15). PC opened the season at the UAB/Samford Classic as they earned a 3-1 win over Georgia State, but also racked up three losses after being swept by Samford, UAB and Jacksonville State. The Blue Hose are led by Halle Tripp as she averages 2.39 kills per set. She is also second on the team in digs averaging 2.56 per set. Mary Trimpe paces the PC defense as she averages 5.22 digs per frame. Trimpe led the Big South Conference in digs last season. The Blue Hose were predicted to finish fifth in the Big South Conference as they finished the 2012 season 13-18 overall and 9-5 in the Big South.

The Roadrunners come into the weekend boasting a 2-2 record. CSU Bakersfield was in action on Wednesday night after falling to Radford 3-2 (25-21,23-25,25-21,25-19,11-16). Last weekend, CSUB went 2-1 at the Davidson Wildcat Classic, earning wins over Charlotte and Charleston Southern. The Roadrunners fell to Davidson in five sets in the tournament finale as they dropped the final three sets after winning the opening two frames. CSUB is led by Preseason All-Western Athletic Conference pick Debora Araulo as she is averaging 4.12 kills per set. Defensively, Mariah Alvidrez leads the team averaging 5.06 digs per set. The Roadrunners are in their first season in the WAC and were picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll.