Wyoming Cowgirl Volleyball Kicks Off Season with Pair of Wins

An experienced University of Wyoming volleyball team got a 2-0 start to the 2012 season by defeating Presbyterian College and San Francisco on the first day of the UniWyo Wyoming Invite.

The Cowgirls began Friday by beating Presbyterian in four sets, 25-9, 25-9, 20-25, 25-14. The match saw Bridget Shanahan, Katherine Feldman and Kaitlyn Johnson make their debuts for UW. Senior Jodi Purdy led the team with 13 kills, Becky Stewart had 17 digs and Rachel Keyes put up 24 assists. As a team the Cowgirls hit .293 and outblocked Presbyterian 12 to 5.

Friday night saw Wyoming shift into a higher gear to take on San Francisco, winning in three sets, 25-17, 25-21, 27-25.

“The girls were pretty motivated tonight,” said fifth-year Head Coach Carrie Yerty. “We knew we’d have a good crowd tonight, we knew San Francisco was ranked in RPI ahead of us and we knew that this was a must have win for us.”

Junior middle blocker Reese Plante hit .556 in the match with 11 kills and only 1 error while contributing 3.5 blocks and 2 aces. Purdy led the team in kills once again with 12 to go with 13 digs and Stewart dug 20 balls.

“Man, Reese was on fire,” commented Yerty. “Becky Stewart passed nails and dug for us all night and Jodi (Purdy) is a main stay. It was just a great total team effort and I’m just so proud of this team. First challenge we’ve had for the year and they A-plused it.”

The Cowgirls continue action in the UniWyo Wyoming Invite on Saturday. They will play Eastern Washington at 1:30 p.m. and Seattle at 7 p.m.