LARAMIE, Wyo. (Nov. 14, 2023) – The Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team closes regular season play this week with a pair of home matches as they look to battle their way into the Mountain West Tournament. The Cowgirls host Air Force at 6:30 p.m., Thursday and New Mexico at 5 p.m., Saturday for Senior Night.
Wyoming (18-9, 7-9 MW) currently sits in eighth in the conference standings but can get into the top-six in the league to qualify for the tournament with two wins this week and with a little bit of help from the teams just above it.
The Cowgirls are coming off a split last week on the road, their fifth consecutive week going 1-1. Wyoming opened with a four-set win at San Diego State Thursday before getting swept by UNLV, Saturday. Tierney Barlow led UW with 22 kills in the two matches and hit .475. Rylee Schulz, meanwhile, tallied 21 kills and had a match-high 17 in the victory over the Aztecs.
Kasia Partyka continues to lead the league in assists per set this season in all matches with 10.56 per. While in league action, Partyka is second averaging 10.03 a set. Sarah Holcomb still claims the top blocking spot in MW play, leading the league averaging 1.31 blocks a set. Barlow and Schulz sit fifth and ninth, respectively averaging 3.98 and 3.76 points per set.
Air Force has been one of the most-efficient teams in the league this season, hitting .245 as a team in league play, which ranks fourth. The Falcons are second in the MW averaging 13.72 kills per set and are led by multi-time All-Mountain West honoree, Joi Harvey's 2.78 and 295 total kills. Harvey is averaging just under a block per set this season and is second in the conference with a .423 hitting percentage. AFA is balanced beyond Harvey, as three other Falcons have at least 230 kills this season. Caroline Reinkensmeyer leads the team averaging 8.21 assists per set.
New Mexico enters the final week of play as the top defense in the Mountain West. The Lobos lead the league in opponent hitting percentage (.188), team blocks (2.65 per set) and digs per set (15.03). All-league honoree Kaitlynn Biassou leads the team and ranks fourth in the league in kills (3.55) and points (4.10) per set. Elizabeth Woods ranks third in the MW with 1.24 blocks per set while Athina Dimitriadis is sixth with 1.10 per. In all matches this season, Uxue Guereca is averaging a team[1]best 4.12 points and 3.50 kills per set.
A trio of Cowgirls will be honored before Saturday's match with Senior Night festivities. Corin Carruth, Holly Eastridge and Zoee Smith will all be appearing in their final matches for the Brown & Gold against New Mexico.
-WYO-
