By University of Wyoming Athletics
LARAMIE, Wyo. (Sept. 7, 2022) – The Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team travels for the final time during their non-conference slate in 2022 this weekend as they travel to Rock Hill, S.C., for the Winthrop Tournament. The Cowgirls face Delaware and Davidson to begin the tourney September 9 with a 9 a.m., MT contest against Delaware and 4:30 p.m., against Davidson. UW closes the tournament against Winthrop at 9 a.m., MT Sept. 10.
The Cowgirls (1-5) swept Idaho last weekend at the Grand Canyon Classic, sweeping the Vandals Sept. 3. UW lost in four sets at the tournament to Santa Clara and GCU. Corin Carruth was named to the All-Classic Team after leading the Cowgirls with 27 kills and nine service aces in the three matches and hit .279 over the weekend. Wyoming tallied 35 aces in the three matches and now ranks third in the Mountain West averaging 1.88 service aces per set.
Naya Shimé and KC McMahon also had 20-or-more kills last weekend with 22 and 20, respectively while Kayla Mazzocca added 18 and hit a team-best .457 in the three matches and led the Cowgirls with eight total blocks. In the back row, Hailey Zuroske averaged 4.45 digs per set at the classic and notched a career-best 24 against GCU. Zuroske is now averaging 3.92 digs per set for the year, a mark that ranks fourth-best in the league.
With her 20 kills at the tournament last weekend, KC McMahon now sits at 951 for her career and is just 49 kills shy of becoming the 13th member of the 1,000-Kill Club in program history.
Delaware has gone 1-4 to open the season and is led by Lani Mason’s 97 kills (4.62 per set). A mark that is more than 40 kills better than second-best on the Blue Hens. Setter Ezgi Basaranlar is averaging 9.44 assists per set in 2022 while Delaware is hitting .199 as a team. Blue Hen opponents are hitting .235 to begin the season. Defensively, Delaware is led by Kirah Johnson’s 19 total blocks and Eileen Gex’s 3.19 digs per set. The Blue Hens are led by first-year Head Coach Kimberly Lambert, who spent the previous six seasons as an assistant at UD.
Davidson has had a solid 4-2 start to the season and has a balanced offensive attack, led by Isabel Decker’s 60 kills. Emma Slusser and Jackie Bardin are second and third, respectively on the squad with 57 and 48 kills, respectively. At setter, the Wildcats deploy two setters with Xuan Nguyen averaging 5.29 assists per set and Jessie Doyal is at 4.76 per. The Wildcats are strong defensively, averaging an impressive 2.71 blocks and 15.10 digs per set this season. Anela Davis leads the way with 28 total blocks while Kayla Davis is at 20. In the back row, Bella Brady is averaging over five digs per set. Davidson is led by Chris Willis, who has been with the program since 2011.
The host school, Winthrop, is 2-4 in 2022 and is hitting just .181 as a team and is led by Alayna Jansky’s 64 (3.37 per set) kills while Brookelynn Thomas has 55 kills. Setter Isabella Murray is averaging 9.64 assists per set and is just under two digs per set. In the back row defensively, the Eagles are well-balanced with four student-athletes averaging over two digs per set while at the net, Alicia Roberts has a team-high 25 total blocks and Thomas has 24. Winthrop is led by Interim Head Coach Heather Gearhart.
All three of this weekend’s matchups will be the first-ever meetings in program history for the Cowgirls with each opponent. Fans can livestream the Davidson and Winthrop matches on ESPN+ while all three contests can be followed via live stats at gowyo.com/coverage.
