Cowgirl volleyball hits the road for first time

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

For the first two weeks of the season, the Wyoming volleyball team has had all of the comforts of home.

That all changes this weekend as the Cowgirls hit the road for the first time, competing in the two-day Northern Arizona Invitational in Flagstaff, Ariz.

The Cowgirls face host Northern Arizona on Friday night (7 p.m.) before closing the tournament on Saturday against The Citadel (1 p.m.) and Utah State (4 p.m.).

Wyoming went 4-2 in its first two tournaments in the UniWyo Sports Complex, finishing second in both occasions.

With a roster filled with youngsters, going on the road for the first time will be an experience, but one that the UW coaching staff wants to be as normal as possible.

“For us, it is not going to change our prep a whole lot other than we are going to have to get on an airplane versus going to class because we have practice time scheduled each day that we are there," Cowgirl coach Carrie Yerty said. “We’ll keep it as normal as you can with eating out and being on the road. I think all of the newcomers are very excited to be taking their first road trip and to see something different.”

For the most part, Yerty said the Cowgirls were able to get what they wanted to out of playing two home tournaments to open the season.

“I think that playing at home always provides a little more stability when you first start, not only academically but just playing in their comfort zone is a lot easier than being away for the first weekend, and then to have a second tournament at home,” she said. "We had the opportunity to get the jitters out; we had the opportunity to play in front of our home crowd, which was just unbelievable. I think we got a couple of wins under our belt and we have a couple of losses under our belt, which will make us continue to work hard.”

Northern Arizona is 2-4 on the season and is led by Lexi Sullivan, who is averaging 3.64 kills and 1.32 digs per set. NAU returns three starters and seven letterwinners to a team that went 15-10 overall and 7-9 in the Big Sky Conference a year ago.

The Citadel is 1-7 overall and will play Utah State before taking on the Cowgirls. They are led by Tatum Jestila, who is averaging 2.90 kills and 2.27 digs per set. They return four starters and seven letterwinners to a team that Utah State is 3-3 overall and will play The Citadel before facing the Cowgirls.

The Aggies are led by Liz McArthur, who is averaging 3.54 kills and 1.58 dps. Utah State returns five starters and seven letterwinners to a team that went 11-17 overall and 9-7 in the Western Athletic Conference a year ago.

The Cowgirls are led by freshman outside hitter Jodi Purdy, who is averaging 3.12 kills, which is fifth in the league, and 2.58 digs per set. She is followed by junior Lauren Whitney, who is adding 2.82 kills and junior Dani Bedore with 2.00 kills and 1.57 digs per set.

“We’re starting to figure out who is going to play where and we’re getting a little more comfortable on the court,” Yerty said. “We still need to do a better job of handling pressure situations and staying composed in the heat of battle. In terms of how hard they are working, and their motivation, they are doing a great job.”