LARAMIE, Wyo. (Aug. 29, 2018) -- The Wyoming volleyball team puts its unblemished record on the line this weekend as hits the road to compete at the North Portland Marriott Invite in Portland, Ore.
 
Along with the Cowgirls (3-0), the North Portland Marriott Invite features Portland, Montana State and LIU Brooklyn. The Brown and Gold will open the weekend on Friday at 11 a.m. MT against the Blackbirds before facing off with Portland later that evening at 6 p.m. MT. Wyoming will finish off the tournament against Montana State on Saturday at 11 a.m. MT.
 
"I think it's going to be a challenge for us," head coach Chad Callihan said. "I think anytime you go on the road it's a new environment and a new challenge. I like the fact that we were able to get a little bit of a roadtrip in the Northern Colorado match, but still not quite the same as jumping on a plane and flying somewhere which we still have to do pretty regularly. It will be good for us to get that experience.
 
"There are three good teams out there. We lead off with LIU Brooklyn, and they are typically one or two in their conference and will probably finish the year with 20 wins on the season. Portland is 3-0 and beat San Diego State in four on San Diego State's court. They look really good on film from what I've seen so far. Then we wrap up with Montana State. I've seen their recruiting the last few years and they're getting the right kids, so they just need to put it together for a match and if they do it's going to be a real battle. We've got our work cut out for us, but we're going to continue to get better here and I think we'll be prepared for it."
 
The Cowgirls opened the 2018 season last weekend with three impressive wins to take the 2018 Rumble in the Rockies team title. The Pokes dispatched of No. 15 Colorado in an epic, five set match to follow up a pair of dominant sweeps of Oral Roberts and North Florida. Each of Wyoming's three wins featured a balanced effort with multiple notable contributions. Cowgirls Jackie McBride, Emily Lewis and Halie McArdle earned all-tournament recognition for their efforts on the weekend, with McBride named tournament MVP.
 
"I'd say it was a pretty good first weekend," Callihan said. "I've been saying for a while that I think this team has something special to it, and they did a good job of showing that this weekend. I'd say they did a good job in every match of being engaged and setting the tone for the match, and that was a good thing to see. Colorado really got their backs against the wall and came back and challenged, and we got a little nervous there for a while, but it was nice to see us reestablish ourselves in that fifth set and finish with a win."
 
McBride was also named MW Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, marking her first time to receive the award. The sophomore was key for the Cowgirls last week, scoring 26 kills on the weekend with an efficient .442 hitting percentage, racking up a team-leading 35 points. She also added five of the team's 11 kills in the decisive fifth set against the Buffs.
 
With a team hitting percentage of .330 heading into the weekend, the Cowgirls lead the MW and are currently ranked ninth in the country in team hitting percentage. Wyoming also leads the MW in opponent hitting percentage at .108, which ranks 24th nationally. Defensively, the Cowgirls rank ninth in the nation in total blocks with a total of 38 after three matches, also leading the MW.
 
LIU Brooklyn enters the second weekend of the 2018 volleyball season at 1-2 following last weekend's UNLV Invitational where they took a 3-0 sweep over Southern Utah before dropping the final two matches of the weekend to Indiana and UNLV. Junior middle blocker Filippa Hansson leads the Blackbird attack with 21 kills through three matches (.269 hit pct), while sophomore Piper Matsumoto has been a standout on both ends of the floor with 61 assists and 34 digs. Head coach Ken Ko (51-41) enters his fourth year with the program. Friday's match will mark the second meeting between the Cowgirls and LIU Brooklyn.
 
Portland is coming off a 3-0 weekend last week at the Aztec Invitational, defeating CSU Bakersfield, Campbell and San Diego State. Junior Shayla Hoeft has racked up 38 kills (.457 hit pct) and 10 blocks on the season, while junior setter Cali Thompson has recorded 128 assists (12.8 a/s). Five Pilots have recorded 15 or more digs, led by libero Carey Williams with 34. Portland is led by fifth-year head coach Brent Crouch (55-66).
 
The Montana State Bobcats are 2-1 heading into the weekend, defeating Canisius (3-2) and Binghamton (3-0) and dropping a 3-0 match to Cleveland State at the Cleveland State Tournament. Senior outside hitter Natalie Passeck has racked up 46 kills (.331) through three matches, while setter Carina Lehto has posted 114 assists (10.36 a/s). On the defensive end, libero Allyssa Rizzo has stacked 57 digs, and Kelsie White has added 13 total blocks. Head coach Daniel Jones (12-16) is in his second year leading the Bobcats.