Nov. 2, 2001

Salt Lake City, Utah (Nov. 2, 2001) -- The Wyoming Cowgirl Volleyball Team (8-11, 3-7) fell in three games to the 15th ranked Utah Utes (17-2, 9-2), 30-19, 30-21, and 30-28, on Friday night in Salt Lake City. The Utes jumped out early against the Cowgirls taking a 7-2 lead in game one, but Wyoming would score the next six out of seven points to tie the score at eight. That would be as close as the Cowgirls would get, as Utah would go on a 22-11 run to close out the first game, 30-19.

The Cowgirls kept it close to begin game two, at times holding a two point advantage, but then the Utes turned it on. With the game tied up at seven, Utah would score the next 19 of 29 points to take a 26-18 lead. Despite the Cowgirls making a small rally, the Utes would take the second game, 30-21, and a 2-0 lead in the match. Game three saw Wyoming take the early 10-5 lead. They would maintain that advantage until the Utes tied the score at 13 and took the eventual lead 15-13. The Cowgirls would stay within a couple of points and at one time was only down, 28-29. But despite holding off five match points, the Utes closed out the game 30-28 and the match 3-0.

Senior McKelle Stilson led the Utes with 11 kills and a .556 hitting percentage.

The Cowgirls were led by freshman Sara Mayotrena, who finished the night with ten kills and a team high .286 hitting percentage. Senior Rachel Lau also recorded ten kills and a season high six digs.

"It was really hard to get our offense rolling tonight with our inconsistent serve/receive," said head coach Susan Steadman. "Once we got the ball in play, I thought we competed very well. Rachel Lau had a nice consistent performance, both offensively and defensively, along with Sara Maytorena, who had one of her better hitting nights plus led the team in digs. We picked up the pace at the end of the match and my goal is to carry that momentum into tomorrow night."