By Staff
LARAMIE, Wyo. – In a final tuneup before Mountain West play, the University of Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team fell to the Shanghai Eastbest and Langsheng professional volleyball club in five sets on Sunday afternoon. Shanghai took the exhibition match 3-2 (25-23, 9-25, 16-25, 25-22, 12-15) in the UniWyo Sports Complex.
“We can take a lot of positives from today,” UW head coach Chad Callihan said. “It was a great experience for the team. They did some things differently than what typically see. It was a good opportunity for us to try different lineups, and to shift things around more than what we’ve been doing.”
Wyoming was led by senior Bridget Shanahan who recorded 12 kills. Junior Kayla Slofkiss had a solid afternoon with nine kills to go along with 10 digs. Laura Beach recorded eight kills against Shanghai, with Mattison DeGarmo and Emily Hines each adding five for the Cowgirls. Courtney Chacon registered 21 assists for UW, as Cori Aafedt had 18.
Leading the way on the defensive end for the Cowgirls was freshman Reed Copeland. She had 13 total blocks, which is the most she has had in any match this season. Hines was next in line with five, as Slofkiss, Shanahan and DeGarmo each had four. Senior Allison Waldvogel contributed with a team-high 19 digs.
Shanghai was led by Yichan Zhang with 17 kills, with Siyu Qin added 16. Xiaochen Ji had a match-high 45 assists. Zhang also had 22 digs, while Qin had 13. Jie Yang had a team-high six blocks for Shanghai.
The Cowgirls started strong by fighting to a 25-23 win in the first before Shanghai cruised to a 25-9 win in the second frame. Shanghai came out firing after intermission to take the third set 25-16, while the Cowgirls battled for a 25-22 fourth set. Shanghai made the most of the fifth, sealing the victory 15-12.
Wyoming will open MW play beginning on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. MT, as Boise State makes its way to Laramie. Utah State will take on the Cowgirls on Saturday.
