Cowgirls finish off Falcons

Richard Anderson photo
UW sophomore JennaRae Jester, left, and teammates celebrate a point in the four-set win over Air Force on Thursday night.


“We had a great week of practice and I really think it all comes down to that. You practice like you play. We worked hard and we worked on what they do. We executed the game plan with our serving and just being aggressive.” -- UW senior outside hitter Samantha Eley.


By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Samantha Eley’s arm has to be getting tired by now. She took nearly as many swings Thursday night against Air Force than she did in her first three seasons with the Cowgirls.

A backrow player for Wyoming in her first three campaigns, Eley moved to the outside earlier this season after sophomore middle blocker Chantilly Watson went down with a season-ending injury.

Like the Cowgirls against the Falcons on Thursday, Eley finished strong after a slow start in the four-set victory (20-25, 25-19, 25-15, 25-13) in the Mountain West Conference match at the UniWyo Sports Complex that was televised on The Mtn.

Eley’s seven kills only tied her for fifth on the team for the night and paled in comparison to team-leader Dani Bedore’s 16 kills or sophomore Lauren Whitney’s 12 kills.

Considering her circumstances, her hitting outburst against Air Force added to the strong night for Wyoming offensively.

Eley, who had three kills to her credit in her first three years, now has 62 this season in 71 games. Her 212 total attacks this season is about nine times more than she had going into her final year. She went into the match averaging 0.82 kills a set.

Eley, who played outside hitter in high school and club before becoming a libero at Wyoming, said it has been somewhat like riding a bike.

“It is starting to come back to me,” she said with a smile. “It doesn’t matter how big they are on the other side, it’s all about what I do.”

In case you are wondering, Eley is just 5-foot-8.

The Nebraska native knows she is out-matched physically on the other side of the net every time she steps out on the court. For her, it is all about heart and wanting it more.

“You have to be smart because obviously you can’t hit right into the block,” Eley said. “But it’s good. My teammates are telling me where to hit; they see where the block is when I am up in the air. It’s good to have them back there telling me what is open.”

The win snapped a five-match losing skid for the Cowgirls and moved them to 3-7 in league play and 4-15 overall.

“You want your seniors to play well so they can feel good about the remaining of their season,” Wyoming coach Carrie Yerty said.

One of three seniors on the team, Eley said it was good to get back into the win column.

“We had a great week of practice and I really think it all comes down to that,” Eley said. “You practice like you play. We worked hard and we worked on what they do. We executed the game plan with our serving and just being aggressive.”

Yerty said she was a bit surprised that the Cowgirls got off to a slow start because of their preparation against Air Force, the lone match of the week for the second straight week.

“I think the girls came out a little bit tight tonight. We had a great week of practice, so it was a little bit shocking to see that,” Yerty said. “I really think they wanted to win so bad that they really started off tight. Once we got into a rhythm, then it was OK.”

After hitting just .122 in the first set, the Cowgirls prevailed in a close second set before rolling in the final two. Wyoming, which hit .259 on the night, hit .391 and .375 respectively in the final two sets.

“Our middles did well. Jenna Arneson really got the momentum going and did a nice job. Carissa Lee passed nails tonight and she gave us a little leeway when we were struggling,” Yerty said.

Arneson and JennaRae Jester had nine kills each and senior setter Tasha Weishahn had a big night with seven kills and 44 assists. Lee finished with a team-leading 19 digs.

Jasamine Pettie led the Falcons, 0-11 and 5-19, with 10 kills. Air Force hit just .098 on the night.

The Cowgirls will return to action next Thursday at TCU before facing New Mexico on Saturday in Albuquerque.

“I think they will feel good about this and it is nice to have the weekend off to celebrate it and enjoy it,” Yerty said. “Monday, we have to come back in and put our shoes on, just like we do every day and go to work. It was a good opportunity for us to really gain some confidence before we go on to our next two conference matches.”