LARAMIE, Wyo. (Feb. 17, 2021) – The Wyoming Cowgirls return to the road this weekend for a first-place showdown at Boise State Friday and Saturday. Match one is set for 2 p.m., February 19 and for noon Feb. 20, for match two. The Cowgirls and Broncos are tied for first place in the league with 4-0 records on the young season.
Wyoming's 4-0 start to the season is the first time UW has opened conference play with a 4-0 mark since 1998, when it was a member of the WAC. The Cowgirls enter the weekend after posting a pair of sweeps last week against New Mexico in Wyoming's home-opening series of the season.
Jackie McBride led the Cowgirls offensively against the Lobos, posting a .600 hitting percentage in the two matches and recording a team-best 20 kills (3.33 per set) and 26 points (4.33 per set). McBride also added 10 blocks over the weekend. For her efforts, McBride was named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week for the fourth time in her career.
Kaitlyn Gehler, who also took home a conference weekly honor for her weekend performance, tallied 29 digs against the Lobos, averaging 4.83 per set. Gehler helped lead a back row defensively that held UNM to a .000 hitting percentage over the weekend. Gehler was named the MW's Defensive Player of the Week. It marks the third time since the league moved to honoring both an offensive and defensive player of the week, back in 2015, that Wyoming has swept the weekly honors.
The Cowgirls have been great defensively the first two weeks of the season, ranking first in the league and seventh in the country with an opponent hitting percentage of just .077. UW also ranks second in the league in total blocks with 46. The Cowgirls have three student-athletes that rank in the top-10 in the conference in blocks per set. Faith Waitsman ranks third (1.43), McBride is fourth (1.36) and Naya Shimé ranks seventh (1.25). Gehler is tied for the league lead at 4.00 digs per set.
Last weekend, McBride moved into seventh-place on the all-time career blocks list in program history, surpassing Katie Donahue (1984-88) on the all-time list, and now has 427 career blocks. McBride, who currently sits third on the all-time career hitting percentage list, leads the league and ranks 11th in the nation with a .470 hitting percentage thus far this season.
Boise State enters the weekend also boasting a 4-0 record this season. The Broncos rank in the top-five in the league in multiple categories, including ranking second in the Mountain West in blocks per set (3.39) and digs per set (14.93). BSU also ranks third in the league in both kills (13.21) and assists (11.93) per set.
The Broncos are led by Lauren Ohlinger's 3.71 kills per set, a mark that ranks third in the conference while her 4.43 points per set rank fourth. Jessica Donahue is averaging a league-leading 2.14 blocks per set in 2020 and is fifth in the league with a .382 hitting percentage. Danielle Boss ranks third in the league with a .400 hitting percentage and fourth in the MW with a 9.79 assists per set average. Allison Casillas ranks third in the conference in service aces with .71 per set, while her 10 aces are the best in the league.
Boise State, UNLV and Wyoming are the three undefeated teams thus far in the league, while BSU and UW are the only 4-0 teams on the young season.
-WYO-
