Arizona Western Volleyball returns to court with 3-1 win over Western Wyoming

YUMA, Ariz. – The Arizona Western Matadors Volleyball team (1-0) opened its 2024 season with a 3-1 win over Western Wyoming (0-1) on Thursday night at the House Gymnasium on the first day of the Chapman Automotive Volleyball Invitational.

Gabriela Martensson helped the Matadors to the season-opening win, leading the team in kills, and finishing the match with 12.

The Matadors jumped out to an early lead in the opening set, going up 7-3 on a Ma'o Lauhingoa ace, forcing a Western Wyoming timeout. Arizona Western built its largest lead of the night, going up 18-8 before Western Wyoming came storming back, eventually taking a 23-22 lead before the Matadors outlasted the Mustangs 28-26.

Rana Yamada led the Matadors defensively, leading the team in digs with 12 while Andrea Krgovic had 18 assists.

Western Wyoming carried its momentum into the second set, jumping out to a 17-8 lead before the Matadors closed the gap, scoring eight of the next 10 points to crawl within three points at 19-16. The Mustangs closed out the second set, 25-20 to even the match at a set a piece.

The third set was back-and-forth with the largest lead being the final margin of 25-20, as Arizona Western and Western Wyoming traded leads. The Matadors used a Larryn Joeseph-Rodrigues kill to push the advantage to 22-19, scoring four of the final five points to take the third set.

After Arizona Western opened up a 4-2 lead in the first set, Western Wyoming went on a run to take an 8-5 lead, forcing the Matadors to take an early timeout. Andrea Krgovic produced back-to-back points with a kill and an ace to give the Matadors a 19-17 lead and the Matadors outdueled the Mustangs in the fourth set, 26-24 to win the match 3-1.

Freshman Esther Asiedu had three blocks in the win while Natalia Valencia-Gamboa finished the night with nine kills.

The Matadors return to the court on Friday, August 23, hosting Snow College at 7:30 pm on the second day of the Chapman Automotive Volleyball Invitational at the House Gymnasium. Tickets are $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for seniors while Arizona Western College students get in free with their AWC ID.