Cowgirls sweep Air Force in three

Intensity and consistency have had its fleeting moments this season for the young Wyoming volleyball team.

Both stuck around for all three games, as the Cowgirls toppled Air Force 25-20, 25-22 and 25-12 Saturday night at the UniWyo Sports Complex.

The win snapped a seven-match conference losing skid for Wyoming, 12-16 overall, and upped its Mountain West conference record to 2-11.

The defeat dropped the Falcons to 0-13, 8-18.

On Tuesday, the Cowgirls had to rally a bit to stop Division II Colorado Christian in four games. On Thursday, Wyoming dropped a five-set match to San Diego State, leading the fifth game 13-10 before falling 16-14.

On Saturday, the Cowgirls did what they had to do to put Air Force away.

“I thought the players did a nice job getting focused and staying focused through out the entire match,” UW head coach Carrie Yerty said. “It would be easy to come out after the second set break and relax, but I think they were very intense through out the whole match. We served well and our blocking was good. I hope this will give us some momentum heading into the final matches of the season."

Junior Lauren Whitney led the way for the Cowgirls with 13 kills, six digs and a .320 (13-5-25) hitting percentage. Freshman Jodi Purdy followed with nine kills and three blocks, while junior JennaRae Jester added eight kills, nine block assists and a .385 (8-3-13) hitting percentage. The Cowgirls hit .263 (41-16-95) for the match and out blocked the Falcons, 10.5-8.

“JennaRae always stands out in terms of leadership and defense for our team,” Yerty said. “Along with her, Lauren Whitney and Dani Bedore also played big parts in this victory.”

Air Force was led by Caroline Kurtz with seven kills and four digs. Nichole Stillwell added six kills and three block assists. They hit .106 (29-19-94) for the match.


The Cowgirls will go on the road next week for the final time with two conference match-ups. They will take on the BYU Cougars on Thursday and the Utah Utes on Saturday.