The only other time the University of Wyoming volleyball team was dominated in the first set this season, the Cowgirls responded by pushing the University of Portland to five sets before losing 3-2.
Thursday — in the opener of the Cyclone Classic in Ames, Iowa — the Cowgirls had little response after Iowa State controlled the first set.
The Cyclones beat the Cowgirls 25-17, 25-23, 25-20 at Hilton Coliseum to open the three-day round-robin event.
UW (8-2 overall) will next play Syracuse at 2:30 p.m. MT today while the Cyclones (7-4) host instate rival Iowa at 6 p.m.
Today’s game against Syracuse will be a quick turnaround, but that probably isn’t a bad thing for the Cowgirls.
UW will likely want to get back on the court as quickly as possible after Thursday.
The Cowgirls came out nervous and tentative against Iowa State in the first set, falling behind 14-6 early on. The lead reached 20-10 before UW got within 21-15 before ISU closed out set.
UW hit just .097 percent in the set and had four service errors with no aces.
The Cowgirls were competitive over the final two sets, but not enough to make it a game.
UW led early in the second set and led 18-17 late in the set when Iowa State went on a 6-1 run for a 23-19 lead. The Cowgirls responded with a 4-0 run of their own to tie the set, but two kills by the Cyclones ended the rally.
The Cowgirls held a 9-7 lead in the third set, only to see ISU run off eight straight points for a 15-9 lead.
UW would get no closer than four points the rest of the way.
Senior Emily Lewis led the Cowgirls with nine kills as UW totaled just 34 as a team.
Juniors Tara Traphagan and Halie McArdle had seven kills each while senior Reed Copeland added five kills and a team-high four blocks.
Junior Madi Fields totaled 18 digs for the Cowgirls. Junior Cori Aafedt added a team-high 17 assists and seven digs.
UW ended the game hitting a season low .152, compared to .238 for Iowa State.
Iowa State was led by junior Jess Schaben’s 14 kills and 12 digs.
The UW doubles team of Elisa Koonik and Tessa van Der Ploeg are ranked No. 60 in the Oracle/ITA 2018 preseason doubles rankings announced earlier this week.
The ranking qualifies the pair to compete in the Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Championships on Sept. 29-Oct. 7 in Pacific Palisades, California.
The duo entered the 2017 season ranked 48th.Â
Koonik van Der Ploeg finished the 2017-18 season 17-12 overall, 11-5 in the spring and 3-0 in Mountain West play. The two were named All-MW for the second time in their careers following the season.
Let the news come to you
Get any of our free email newsletters — news headlines, sports, arts & entertainment, state legislature, CFD news, and more.
