The Nevada women’s volleyball team squeezed out a 3-2 win against the Wyoming Cowgirls tonight, marking the program’s first home win in the Shannon Wyckoff-McNeal era.
Gabby McLaughlin, sophomore outside hitter, was the highlight of the night, setting a career-high in kills over a five-set match against Wyoming with 22, three more than her previous best.
“It was awesome, it was so fun,” McLaughlin said after the match. “I think our team is used to playing five sets, we did a lot in preseason. I think we were really ready to compete.”
The first two sets were split by the Wolf Pack and the Cowgirls. Nevada was the first to claim a set, taking an early match lead with a 25-22 set win. The Pack was down 20-18 late, but a rally where McLaughlin scored back-to-back kills to force Wyoming to use two timeouts got them back in the set. After the Cowgirls tied things up at 22 apiece, the Wolf Pack sealed the game with three straight points.
With one set under their belt, the Pack got a reality check in the second, losing 25-20 in a set that featured a combined eight service errors. Nevada’s only lead in the second set was a 1-0 point advantage to open after the break, as Wyoming took the reins over until the end. Nevada did keep it close for a while, only allowing the visitors to have a four-point lead until midway through the set. However, despite their best efforts, the Pack let the lead get as large as eight, making the comeback out of reach.
“A big part of [us staying in the game] was our coaches and our teammates, everyone on the bench or on the court,” McLaughlin said. “We really emphasize staying locked in the entire time, and that’s something that we’ve also worked on throughout the entire season: sticking with it the entire time.”
Moving into the back half of sets, Nevada took the third set by storm. Similar to the first two, both teams battled in the opening serves. However, after Wyoming pushed the game to 10-8 in the Pack’s favor, Nevada turned on the gas, scoring eight points over the next ten serves from kills by McKenna Dressel, middle blocker, Sia Lillii, hitter, and McLaughlin as well as back-to-back blocks from Dressel. With an eight point lead, Nevada coasted to win set three 25-16.
Despite Nevada pushing Wyoming to their heels, the Cowgirls did not shut down in set four. Both teams fought back-and-forth once more, but extended this battle to the bitter end. Neither team had a lead bigger than three points throughout the final regulation set. The Wolf Pack did have the lead for the majority of the opening serves, but after Wyoming took the lead during the 17th serve, Nevada could not take it back, losing 25-22. Nevada’s first match at the Virginia Street Gym would be settled in an overtime set.
“When we lost a set, we could feel the entire crowd cheering for us,” Bella Snyder, Nevada middle blocker, said. “They weren’t mad at us for losing. So, I think that really built up our passion into the game, and I think it showed today.”
With the entire gym behind them, the Wolf Pack fought tooth and nail with the Cowgirls once more. Nevada did have the advantage, holding a lead as big as two or being down only by one through 22 serves. This changed when Wyoming scored on three of four servers, forcing Nevada to take a timeout down 14-12 on match point.
Looking for a miracle, Nevada got two straight points off of an attack error from Emma Winter, Wyoming hitter, and a combined block from Carissa Chainey, outside hitter, and Dressel to tie the game at 14 apiece. After a timeout from Wyoming, Snyder served up two straight aces to seal the win for the Wolf Pack.
“We knew they were going to be beasts at the net, I think that’s what we’re up against all season long to be honest,” Wyckoff-McNeal said. “We know that we’re on the smaller side, but that also gives us an advantage with covering. It really is frustrating to a team when you can dig really well and when you cover when they block.”
In its hard fought battle, Nevada had a mixed bag of a night. Although they were blocked 17 times to their eight and had 24 attack errors to Wyoming’s 11, the Wolf Pack made up for it with their kills and aces. The Pack beat Wyoming 64-48 in kills and 7-5 in aces. Wyoming also shot themselves in the foot, finishing with 16 service errors to Nevada’s seven.
After this win, the Wolf Pack women’s volleyball team (8-5, 1-0) will have a short turnaround to their next match, playing their second of two home games to open conference play against Colorado State on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 1 p.m.
Derek Raridon can be reached via email draridon@sagebrush.unr.edu or via X @TheBigCountry14
