LARAMIE, Wyo. — The Wyoming Cowgirls swept their way to the best start in program history Friday afternoon at the Portland Invitational, as a victory over Eastern Washington moved UW to 8–0 to start the young season. The Pokes won 25–20, 25–22, 25–19.
In all three sets, the two teams were evenly matched early on, with the Cowgirls taking control late. UW closed out the first set with five straight points to take a 1–0 set lead in the match, after being deadlocked at 20–20. In the second, the Cowgirls again found themselves tied 20–20 before three straight kills allowed them to push ahead.
Wyoming got off to a strong start in the third set, taking a 9–3 lead early before the Eagles surged back. EWU cut the deficit to within one point multiple times, with the final time coming at 17–16. From there, the Cowgirls would go on a 7–1 run to push the lead to 24–17.
Sarah Holcomb closed things out with a kill at 24–19, and UW earned its fourth sweep of the young season.
The Cowgirls’ offense was in rare form throughout the match, with a team kill percentage better than 40%. Rylee Schulz was tremendous in the contest, leading the way with 16 kills. Tierney Barlow added 10 kills, Corin Carruth and Holly Eastridge chipped in with eight and six kills, respectively.
Throughout the game, no Cowgirl that registered an attack hit lower than .300.
Setter Kasia Partyka led Wyoming with 41 assists in the win and also added seven digs and a trio of kills. In the back row, a pair of Cowgirls notched double-digit digs, as Skylar Erickson led UW with 13 digs while Sierra Grizzle had 10 of her own.
Wyoming now shifts its focus to its Saturday showdown against California State University Northridge, where the Pokes will be in search of their third consecutive 3–0 week.
