Cowgirls Swept By New Mexico

The Wyoming Cowgirl Volleyball Team (8-6 overall, 0-2 MW) returned to conference play on Thursday night and suffered a three-set loss (14-25, 16-25, 14-25) to the New Mexico Lobos (11-1 overall, 2-0 MW).

Bridget Shanahan led the way for the Cowgirls with 11 kills while hitting .304 (11-4-23). Reese Plante added seven kills followed by Erin Kirby with five. Senior libero Becky Stewart recorded 11 digs.

Wyoming struggled hitting .079 (30-22-101) for the match and recording just two total blocks. The Lobos were led by Julia Warren with 13 kills and a .619 (13-0-21) hitting percentage. Cassie House finished with nine kills and Miquella Lovato had a match high 16 digs. New Mexico hit .348 (42-10-92) for the match. The two teams were even through the first four points until a kill by Bridget Shanahan gave Wyoming a 3-2 lead.

The Lobos responded with a 7-1 run including four straight points to go ahead by five, 9-4. After a UW timeout, Shanahan stopped the Cowgirls scoring drought with another kill. Wyoming would score the next seven of 11 to close the gap to two, 13-11. A point by Julia Warren on the next side out helped start another 7-3 run for New Mexico to extend the lead back to six, 20-14.

Unfortunately, the Cowgirls were shut out the rest of the way as they fell in the first set, 25-14. Wyoming came out in the second set and scored four of the first six points to take a 4-2 lead. A service ace started a small run for the Lobos to even it up at five all. Three straight attack errors by UNM helped the Cowgirls regain an 8-5 advantage.

New Mexico stormed back with eight unanswered to give them the 13-8 lead. A kill by Kayla Henderson would end the Wyoming scoring drought, but an 8-2 run by the Lobos got the lead back to double-figures 21-11. Despite out scoring UNM down the stretch, the Cowgirls would fall 25-16 to go down 2-0 in the match. New Mexico jumped out early to a 5-3 lead in the third set.

The Cowgirls scored five of the next nine to pull within one, 9-8. The Lobos answered with an 8-1 run to increase the lead back to eight, 17-9. A kill by Shanahan stopped the run but unfortunately Wyoming couldn’t make a big enough comeback. They were held to just four points the remainder of the set as New Mexico won the set 25-14 and the match 3-0.

Wyoming will close out the week against the Air Force Falcons, on Saturday, Sept. 28, in Colorado Springs. The match is set for 6:00 p.m.