LARAMIE, Wyo. (Sept. 25, 2017) -- Wyoming volleyball returns to the UniWyo Sports Complex Tuesday for the Border War before its first conference road test at Air Force on Thursday evening. Tomorrow's contest against No. 24 Colorado State will feature two of the top defensive teams in the Mountain West.
 
Live Coverage
Both matches are set for a 6:30 p.m. first serve, with the Border War to be televised on Stadium. It will also be available on Twitter (@WatchStadium). Thursday's match at Air Force 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 week.
 
Last Time Out
The Cowgirls opened Mountain West play with a five-set victory over UNLV last Thursday. It was the third-consecutive MW opening win for Wyoming and also the sixth win out of the last seven matches against the Rebels. Redshirt freshman Jackie McBride and sophomore Tara Traphagan led the offensive attack for UW. McBride posted a career-high 13 kills, with Traphagan adding 15. Freshman Marissa Harmon recorded her third double-double of the season with 41 assists and ten digs. On Saturday, Wyoming fell to New Mexico in three sets. Sophomore Halie McArdle tied a career-high with 12 kills against the Lobos.
 
Against CSU and Air Force
Wyoming and Colorado State split its two matches last season. UW won in four-sets in Laramie, as CSU won in five in November. Wyoming's four-set victory was the first win over CSU since Nov. 13, 1997. The Cowgirls did win in 2011, but due to NCAA violations, the victory was later vacated. The Rams hold a 63-20 series record over UW. Against Air Force, Wyoming has won 24 of the last 25 matches and holds a 39-6 advantage in the all-time series. UW won earned a three-set sweep over Air Force last season.
 
Cowgirl Leaders
Defensively, UW is averaging 2.77 blocks per set to lead the MW after the first weekend of conference play. Wyoming has held its opponents to a .174 hitting clip to sit third in the conference as well. Looking at individual stats, McBride is third in the MW with 1.26 blocks per set. Junior Reed Copeland is sixth with 1.20 bps and also eighth with a .288 hitting percentage. Sophomore Madi Fields is third in the conference with 4.60 digs per set, while Harmon is ninth with 8.11 assists per set.
 
The Opponents
Other than losses to Duke and Colorado, Colorado State has rolled through the early part of its 2017 season. The Rams are 2-0 in conference and hold a 12-2 overall mark with wins over two top-25 teams. CSU swept both New Mexico and UNLV to open MW play this past weekend. Colorado State has four players with at least 100 kills. Redshirt freshman Breana Runnels leads the way with 159 (3.24 kps), as senior outside hitter Jasmine Hanna has 148 (2.96 kps). Senior outside hitter Sanja Cizmic has recorded 126 kills (2.74 kps) as sophomore Paulina Hougaard-Jensen has 108 (2.70 kps) on the season. Sophomore setter Katie Oleksak has a conference-best 604 assists (12.08 aps), while sophomore defensive specialist Amanda Young is ninth in the MW with 195 digs (3.90 dps). Cizmic has been named the MW Offensive Player of the Week once, as Hougaard-Jensen and redshirt sophomore Kirstie Hillyer have each earned MW Defensive Player of the Week honors once as well. Colorado State was selected as the preseason favorite before the 2017 campaign began. Cizmic, Hillyer, Oleksak and senior middle blocker Alexandra Poletto were each named to the 2017 All-Mountain West Women's Volleyball Preseason Team.
 
Air Force is currently 7-9 overall after dropping matches against Nevada and San Jose State last week. Sophomore outside hitter Denise Ssozi is currently leading the team and fourth in the MW averaging 3.69 kills per set. She has 225 total kills on the season, while senior middle blocker Piper Heineck is fourth in the league with 20 service aces (0.33 saps). Junior setter Shanleigh Conlan has a team-high 481 assists (8.02 aps), which is tenth in the MW. Four Falcons have at least 100 digs this season. Freshman defensive specialist Alex King is leading the way with 148 (2.43 dps), while Heineck also leads the team with 75 total blocks (1.25 bps).
 
Up Next
After Thursday's match at Air Force, Wyoming will meet Utah State on Logan, Utah, on Thursday Oct. 5 and then travel to Boise State on Saturday Oct. 7.