Cowgirl volleyball loses season opener

By Wyoming Sports.org

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- It is a new season for the Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team and it is a new start for head coach Carrie Yerty. The Cowgirls opened the season with a tough 3-0 loss to host Oregon State Friday night in the Corvallis Invitational.

Oregon State opened with a 25-10, 25-13 and 27-25 victory.

“I think Dani Bedore played a solid match,” Yerty said. “It took us until the third game to find any rhythm. We aren’t going to look in the rearview mirror. We just need to focus on the next two upcoming matches tomorrow, especially in the area of pass and serve.”

In the first game, the Cowgirls trailed by just 8-7, but tough Oregon State blocking lifted the Beavers on a couple of runs and a 19-9 lead and they never looked back.

Oregon State was in total control in the second game, jumping out to a 15-4 lead and closing strong as well.

The two teams traded points in the early going of the third set. Oregon State would take an 8-5, lead but the Cowgirls rallied back with a 7-2 scoring run to gain a two point advantage, 12-10. Despite the best efforts of the Beavers, Wyoming continued to maintain a slight lead for the next several points. With the score 18-17 in favor of UW, they would score six of the next seven points to extend the lead to four, 22-18. Not to be outdone, Oregon State would mount a comeback of its own with a 7-2 run to earn match point 25-24. The Cowgirls evened it up at 25 all, but couldn’t hold off the next two points.

Wyoming was led on the night by Bedore, who finished with a career-high 10 kills, five digs and a .348 (10-2-23) hitting percentage. Sophomore JennaRae Jester followed with nine kills, while Tasha Weishahn had 23 assists. The Cowgirls hit just .184 (28-14-76) for the match and struggled serving with 16 service errors.

Oregon State was led by Jill Sawatzky with nine kills, five digs and a .500 (9-2-14) hitting percentage. Rachel Rourke added seven kills, while Lauren Rinderknecht finished with six. The Beavers hit .349 (30-8-63) for the match and had 13 service aces.

Wyoming will continue the tournament on Saturday against Portland State at 11 a.m., and the College of Charleston Cougars at 7 p.m.