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Cowgirls Close Out Weekend With A Five Game Victory
Oct. 13, 2001
*Wyoming def. New Mexico 3-2 - Box Score Albuquerque, N.M. - In dramatic fashion, the Wyoming Cowgirl Volleyball Team (8-7, 3-3 in the MWC) would defeat the New Mexico Lobos (3-13, 1-6 in the MWC), 3-2 to sweep the weekend. The Lobos jumped out early in game one by going on an 8-1 run to take the 15-8 lead. Wyoming would close the margin to 16-18, but New Mexico would score seven out of the next ten to go up 25-19. With the score at 28-20, it looked the Lobos would run away with it, but the Cowgirls would manage six points in a row closing the gap to two points. It wouldn't be enough as the Lobos would take game one, 30-27. The Cowgirls continued to look a little sluggish to begin the second game, despite staying point for point with the Lobos. Wyoming would gain a cushion of a couple of points, but New Mexico would always seem to have an answer. With the score tied at 19-19, the Cowgirls would go on a 5-1 run to build a 24-19 margin, but the Lobos closed the gap to one point. Finally, Wyoming would win the game 30-27 and tie up the match one game apiece. In game three, no team really seem to take control with the points going back and forth. The Lobos would finally take a lead at 23-19, but Wyoming would go on a 4-1 run to close the gap to one. With the score tied at 27-27, New Mexico would score the next three to win the game 30-27. The Cowgirls dominated the fourth game scoring the first 17 of 21 points. But, New Mexico would make a small run of their own by scoring the next 10 out of 12 points to make the score 19-15. They would continue their rally closing the gap to 22-21. Wyoming would go on a 8-5 run to win the game 30-26 and force a fifth game.
In the fifth and deciding game, Wyoming jumped out to 8-4 lead. The
Lobos would try to push the Cowgirls, but they would prevail 15-11 and
win the match 3-2.
The Cowgirls were led by sophomore Michele Rauter, who finished with a team high 25 kills and 13 digs. Senior Rachel Lau also added 18 kills. As a team, they hit .378 (74-20-143), along with eight team blocks. This also was the first conference road sweep since 1998, when the Cowgirls swept SMU and TCU as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. "I'm extremely thankful for this win on the road. I was pleased with the way we attacked the ball as a team. The key for us to get better as a team is to reduce unforced errors, like missed serves and blocking errors. Rachel had a steady performance and provided a necessary spark in key plays." Wyoming will be on the road next week with just a single match. They will travel to Ft. Collins to face the #8 ranked Colorado State Rams, at 7:00 p.m., on Friday night. |
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