Cowgirls drop pair in Corvallis

Wyoming sophomore Dani Bedore

By Wyoming Sports.org

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- The Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team dropped to 0-3 on the young season with a tough four-game loss to College of Charleston Saturday night to conclude the Corvallis Invitational. Earlier in the day, the Cowgirls fell to Portland State in five games.

College of Charleston controlled much of the match for the 25-23, 25-23, 18-25 and 25-16 victory.

“Pre-season play is always a starting point to see where you are as a team,” Wyoming head coach Carrie Yerty said. “The players competed hard and continued to get better every match. It’s the coaching staffs’ responsibility to continue to teach our young Cowgirl squad to compete and improve their skills. I’m extremely proud for the opportunity to coach these young women, proud of their effort, and look forward to watching the team grow and get better.”

Sophomore Dani Bedore once again had a strong showing, as she finished with a career-high 15 kills, while adding five digs. Outside hitter Lauren Whitney added 14 kills, while Samantha Eley led the team in digs with 14. The Cowgirls hit .204 (52-22-147) for the match, while adding five total team blocks.

Three Cougars ended their night in double figures led by Whitney Russell who had 17 kills and eight digs. She was followed by Elyse Chubb with 13 and Emily Sawin with 12. College of Charleston hit .239 (53-21-134) for the match and recorded 11 total blocks.

The Cowgirls nearly earned their first win for Yerty, but just came up short in the fifth game. Portland State held on for the 18-25, 29-27, 21-25, 25-22 and 15-13 victory.

“We had a lot of improvement in this match from yesterday,” Yerty said. “Overall, our blocking was much improved, we just need to continue to build our team systems and eliminate errors at critical times.”

Three Cowgirls finished the match in double-figures. Whitney and Jenna Arneson each finished with 14 kills, while Arneson also added a career-high 11 digs. Bedore eclipsed added 13 kills and eight digs and Senior Carissa Lee recorded a season-high 29 digs, while Eley added 13. Wyoming hit .112 (57-34-205) for the match and recorded 13 total team blocks.

Portland State was led by Marija Vojnovic with 15 kills and 14 digs, while Lana Zielke added 13 kills. The Vikings hit .128 (62-36-203) for the match and had 93 digs and nine total team blocks.

Wyoming will continue tournament play next weekend at the Honolulu Advertiser Volleyball Challenge, in Honolulu, Hawaii.