LARAMIE, Wyo. (Oct. 25, 2022) – The Wyoming Cowgirls return home for a pair of matches in Laramie this week after splitting its two contests last week. The Cowgirls welcome Fresno State for a 6:30 match Thursday night before hosting San Diego State at noon Saturday.
Last week, UW (9-13, 5-5 MW) lost in four sets at home against Utah State, October 20 before rallying for a five-set victory at Boise State, Oct. 22. The win at Boise improved the Cowgirls to 5-1 on the road in conference play this season and gave the Broncos their first home loss of the season. Wyoming had four student-athletes with double-figure kills in the win. Naya Shimé led the way with 19 kills in the match while Teresa Garza and KC McMahon added 12 kills each and Tierney Barlow had 11.
McMahon, who tallied 26 kills last week, moved into ninth-place on the all-time career kills list in program history. McMahon, who surpassed former teammate Jackie McBride (2017-21) on the all-time list, now has 1,111 kills in her Cowgirl career.
Barlow, who had nine total blocks in each match last week, is now seventh in the Mountain West in conference play averaging 1.02 blocks per set while her .377 hitting percentage also ranks seventh in the league. Shimé also ranks in the top-10 in the league in two categories, ranking fourth in kills per set (3.68) and seventh in points per (3.99). Kasia Partyka, who had 53 assists against Boise, ranks third in the MW at 10.16 assists per set during league-only contests.
Wyoming has enjoyed nice success at home in its all-time series against Fresno State and SDSU. The Cowgirls are 10-4 in series history in Laramie against the Bulldogs and are 19-12 all-time against the Aztecs. UW has won seven consecutive matches overall against San Diego State in the series.
Fresno State, who enters the week looking for its first conference win of the season, leads the Mountain West in blocks per set, averaging 2.54 per as a team. Individually, Kasey Purry leads the league in blocks averaging 1.46 per set. On offense, the Bulldogs are led by Ella Rud's 3.34 kills and 3.95 points per set in 2022. Both marks rank eighth in the league. Grace Doyle, who leads Fresno with 28 service aces, ranks fourth-best in the conference averaging 0.41 aces per set. As a team, the Bulldogs are hitting .201 overall this season while opponents are hitting at a .239 clip. FSU is led by Hannah Waters' 460 assists this season while Brooke cowie is at 312.
San Diego State is led offensively by a well-balanced attack as Madison Corf leads the team with 183 kills while Mikela Labno and Kayla Rivera have 177 and 176 kills, respectively. Heipua Tautua'a is fourth on the team with 157 kills in 2022. Meanwhile, Julia Haynie ranks sixth in the league in hitting at a .378 clip this season. In the back row, defensively, the Aztecs are led by a pair of solid players in Ellie Geoghegan, who ranks ninth in the league in digs per set at 3.23 while McKenna Douglas' 3.14 per is 10th-best in the Mountain West during league action. The duo also ranks in the top-10 in the conference in service aces with Douglas ranking second at 0.45 per set while Geoghegan's 0.35 is ninth.
-WYO-
