LARAMIE, Wyo. (Sept. 19, 2017) – The University of Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team will open the 2017 Mountain West season at home this Thursday and Saturday. With both matches set to be played in the UniWyo Sports Complex, UW will welcome UNLV on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. MT, before meeting New Mexico on Saturday at 1 p.m. Fans that show their Wyoming football vs. Hawaii ticket will receive $5 admission to Saturday's match.
 
Live Coverage
Thursday's match will be televised on Stadium's new linear, over-the-air (OTA) platform and will also be available on Twitter (@WatchStadium). Saturday afternoon's match with New Mexico will be streamed on the MW Network. Links to live stats and live video for both matches can be found above. Fans are also encouraged to follow @wyo_volleyball on Twitter for updates throughout the weekend.
 
Last Time Out
The Cowgirls went 2-1 over the weekend at the Oral Roberts Invitational. UW fell in four sets to Central Arkansas before taking a 3-0 win from Tulsa and a five-set victory over Oral Roberts. Sophomore Reed Copeland and freshman Marissa Harmon were each named to the All-Tournament team for Wyoming.
 
Cowgirl Leaders
Defensively, UW is averaging 2.82 blocks per set to lead the MW heading into conference play. Wyoming has held its opponents to a .163 hitting clip to sit atop the conference as well. Looking at individual stats, redshirt freshman Jackie McBride is second in the MW with 1.31 blocks per set. Copeland is seventh with 1.19 bps and a .329 hitting percentage. Sophomore Madi Fields is third in the conference with 4.71 digs per set, while freshman Marissa Harmon is tenth with 8.00 assists per set.
 
The Opponents
New Mexico is 8-4 overall and is coming off a 2-1 record at the Blue/Gold Invitational in Toledo, Ohio. The Lobos earned wins over Youngstown State and Tennessee Tech over the weekend. Redshirt junior middle blocker Mariessa Carrasco was named the MW Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week on Monday. She totaled 30 kills for UNM, hitting .456 over the three matches. Sophomore outside hitter Lauren Twitty leads the Lobos with 142 kills (3.64 kps), as junior setter Carson Heilborn has 396 assists (9.90 aps) so far in 2017. Heilborn and Twitty are both fifth in the MW in assists and kills, respectively. Senior outside hitter Ashley Kelsey is fourth in the conference with 4.52 digs per set, and she leads UNM with 181.
 
UNLV holds a 4-9 mark heading into conference play this weekend. The Rebels dropped all three matches last weekend at the Hoosier Classic. They were swept by Indiana and Florida Gulf Coast, before falling in four to Samford. Three different Rebels have at least 100 kills on the season. Freshman Mariena Hayden leads the way with 146 (2.92 kps), with junior middle blocker Elsa Deschamps next in line with 115 (2.30) and senior middle blocker Ashley Owens with 106 (2.12 kps). Hayden is leading the MW with 19 total service aces, as Owens is fifth with 1.20 blocks per set.
 
Wyoming-UNLV Series
The Cowgirls hold an 11-6 all-time record at home against UNLV. The Rebels have the advantage with a 23-16 mark in all matches. UW has won the last four matches at home against UNLV and are 5-1 in the last six. The two teams split the series last year with each home team winning. Kayla Slofkiss, Laura Beach and Copeland each recorded double-digit kills against UNLV at home a year ago. Additionally, Slofkiss recorded her 1,000th career kill in the Nov. 5 match against the Rebels.
 
Wyoming-New Mexico Series
At home, Wyoming holds a 20-12 record against the Lobos, while UNM has a 40-33 record in the all-time series. Wyoming has won three of the last four at home and six of the last eight matches overall. The Cowgirls swept the Lobos last year. In the contest in Laramie, Slofkiss and Beach each had double-digit kills for UW. Slofkiss earned what was her fourth double-double of the season, while Courtney Chacon earned her tenth double-double with 43 assists and 14 digs.
 
Up Next
The Cowgirls will host Border War rival Colorado State next Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. to continue MW action and then travel to Colorado Springs for a Thursday evening contest with Air Force.