LARAMIE, Wyo. (Sept. 19, 2023) – The Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team opens the main event of its 2023 schedule this week as UW begins Mountain West play by traveling to Utah State Thursday night and Boise State for a Saturday matinee. Thursday's first serve is set for 7 p.m., while the Boise State contest begins at noon.
Wyoming comes into league play still riding a winning streak from non-conference action. The Cowgirls are 11-0 on the season after posting the first perfect non-conference record in program history. UW closed non-league play with a sweep over Tennessee Tech and a four-set win against Idaho State last week. UW is one of just six teams in the country still boasting an undefeated record.
The Brown & Gold are looking to snap a current three-match losing streak to Utah State Thursday. UW lost its lone match last season against the Aggies, a four-setter in Logan. The Cowgirls are 12-6 all-time on the road in the series. Against Boise State, Wyoming came-from-behind to win a thrilling five-setter last season at Boise. It was just the fourth win at BSU in program history.
The Cowgirls enter Mountain West action leading the league in assists (13.22) and kills per set (14.12), as well as team hitting percentage (.288). UW is third in the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.167) and digs per set (14.32). In the national rankings, Wyoming's assists per set rank 10th-best.
Individually, Cowgirls rank in the top-10 in the league in multiple statistical categories, led by Kasia Partyka's 11.34 assists per set, which not only leads the MW, but is No. 4 in the nation. Tierney Barlow's .435 hitting percentage leads the league while Sarah Holcomb's clip of .422, is third-best in the Mountain West. Rylee Schulz and Barlow rank eighth and ninth, respectively in the conference averaging 3.32 and 3.29 kills per set, respectively. The duo also rank in the top-10 in points per set with Barlow (4.34) ranking fifth and Schulz (3.80) coming in at No. 9. Defensively, Skylar Erickson's 3.51 digs per set are eighth-best in the league.
Utah State is the defending Mountain West Tournament Champion. The Aggies enter conference play 7-4 overall and have played a daunting non-conference schedule, including a pair of ranked opponents, three other Power 5 opponents and another NCAA Tournament team from 2022. USU is led by Kennedi Boyd's .365 hitting percentage, a stat that ranks seventh in the league. Boyd and her teammate, Kelsey Watson rank eighth and ninth, respectively in the league averaging 1.13 and 1.12 blocks per set.
All-MW honoree Shelby Capllonch leads the Aggies with 102 kills and 3.44 points per set. Adna Mehmedovic leads the team with 118 points and has 98 kills on the year. Defensively, Kambree Rodriguez ranks seventh in the MW averaging 3.53 digs per set. Utah State uses a pair of setters in Leah Wilton-LaBoy (199 assists) and Beatriz Rodrigues (167).
Boise State is led by All-Mountain West honoree, Paige Bartsch, who leads the league in kills (4.94), service aces (0.67) and points (5.83) per set. Noelani Helm ranks sixth in the conference averaging 7.78 assists per set. Annie Kaminski ranks 10th in the MW averaging 1.11 blocks per set. The Broncos rank third as a team in the conference averaging 1.72 service aces per set as a squad. The Broncos enter the week at 3-6 but are 2-1 at home this season.
-WYO-
