Cowgirls to face No. 13 CSU

Richard Anderson photo
Wyoming coach Carrie Yerty talks to sophomore Lauren Whitney during a timeout in a recent home match.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

First-year head volleyball coach Carrie Yerty has had to cram a lot of knowledge about the Wyoming volleyball program in a short time.

One thing she didn’t know until Tuesday was the meaning of the Border War.

Yerty’s Cowgirls will take on Colorado State Friday night at 7 p.m. in Moby Arena in the first meeting this season between the two rivals. It wasn’t that Yerty was unfamiliar with the rivalry, she was just unaware of the terminology. That goes with a Wyoming-Colorado State matchup in any sport.

She knows now.

“From what I understand, this rivalry is huge and there will be really jacked-up emotions on both sides of the net,” Yerty said.

The competition hasn’t been very even as of late, with the Rams, a consistent Top 20 program, on a more victorious side. CSU is 2-0 in Mountain West Conference play (10-1 overall), ranked 13th in the national ratings.

The Cowgirls, 1-1 in league play and 2-9 overall, are riding a little wave of momentum coming off a three-game win over Utah last Saturday.

“I think it was really exciting for our program, because we hadn’t beat them in the last (21) tries,” Yerty said of the win over the Utes. “It was really exciting for our program because we have been asking our seniors to help lay a foundation for our future, so that we can continue to recruit and get better. We’ve been trying very, very hard. It’s nice when you see all of the training and the hard work pay off. Those seniors will never forget that match.”

CSU has won 20 straight matches against the Cowgirls, but Yerty said that she is one of those people who believe that on any give day, anybody can be beaten.

“You have to prepare and I think you have to train and work hard,” she said. “Then you go out on the court and you put your best foot forward and you let the pieces fall where they may. We have been focusing so much on being able to be composed and follow a game plan, and regardless of winning or losing, be able to walk off the court knowing that we’ve done our job. Against Utah, it all fell into place. We beat a very good team. For us, that is a very big win.”

Yerty is also not unfamiliar with the CSU program, led by Tom Hilbert. Yerty said that she and Hilbert go way back to win she was a player for Washington State and Herbert was a coach at Idaho. Yerty used to work Hilbert’s summer camps.

“To me, it is just another game,” Yerty said. “I don’t know if I have the Border War etched in my mind right now probably like the other people in the state of Wyoming. I know my girls are very excited for it. I know Colorado State is going to be taking us very seriously after we played so well against Utah. We’re trying to stay even keel. There is not a match that is a better win or a lesser win in our conference. A win is a win.”

The Rams are led by Jaime Strauss, who is averaging 3.28 kills and 1.74 digs per game. She is followed by middle hitter Mekana Barnes, who is adding 3.08 kills and 1.48 blocks per game.

“They have one of the best middles in the country returning and I know that they are going to execute their game plan very well,” Yerty said.

The Cowgirls continue to be led by sophomore outside hitter Dani Bedore, who is averaging 3.02 kills, which is 10th in the MWC, and 1.59 digs per set. She is followed by sophomore Lauren Whitney, who is adding 2.71 kills and almost one dig per set.