LARAMIE, Wyo. (Nov. 19, 2024) – The Wyoming Cowgirls close the 2024 regular season with a pair of home matches this weekend. The Cowgirls welcome in defending Mountain West champion Utah State for a 6:30 p.m., match Thursday. Senior Day, and the season finale, meanwhile, will be held Saturday at noon against Nevada.
The Cowgirls (14-11, 6-10 MW) are coming off a five-set loss in their lone match of last week. Wyoming battled until the bitter end at Fresno State Saturday but couldn't hold off the Bulldogs late as UW suffered its second consecutive five-set loss on the road. Sarah Holcomb and Claire Wagstaff led the Cowgirls offense in the loss with 13 kills each. Holcomb, who hit .458 in the match, also led Wyoming with four total blocks.
For the season, Holcomb's up to eighth in the Mountain West with a .340 hitting percentage and is second in the league in blocks per set with 1.25. In the back row, Sierra Grizzle's 4.10 digs per set ranks second-best while Kasia Partyka is third in the MW averaging 9.76 assists per set. Paige Lauterwasser continues to pace the Wyoming offense and ranks eighth in the league in both kills (3.37) and points per set (3.73). In conference-only matches, those numbers rank sixth and seventh, respectively for Lauterwasser.
As a team, the Cowgirls continue to rank second in the league in opponent hitting percentage, allowing just a .187 clip in 2024. Wyoming ranks fourth in the league in aces (1.50), blocks (2.52) and digs (13.92) per set as a squad. The Cowgirls also rank in the top half in the league and assists per set and team hitting efficiency.
Utah State has a balanced offensive attack this season as seven student-athletes have recorded 100-or-more kills in 2024. Adna Mehmedovic leads the Aggies averaging 2.79 kills per set while former Cowgirl, Tierney Barlow leads the team and ranks fourth in the league with a .377 hitting percentage. Kaylie Kofe's 8.09 assists per set ranks fourth-best in the MW as she orchestrates an offense that is hitting .224 this season overall and .273 in conference play, a mark that ranks second-best in the league. In conference matches, Mara Stiglic leads USU and ranks ninth in the league in kills and points per set.
Nevada is led by Gabby McLaughlin's 4.24 points per set, which ranks seventh in the league. Tehya Maeva ranks sixth-best in the conference averaging 7.92 assists per set. The Wolf Pack have lost 7-of-8 matches recently and are 3-10 in road matches in 2024. Nevada has five student-athletes with 20-or-more service aces on the year.
Before Saturday's match, Wyoming will recognize five student-athletes for senior day. Macey Boggs, Kayla Mazzocca, Kasia Partyka, Kendral Rivera and Sonte Stewart will all be playing in their final home matches for the Brown & Gold.
-WYO-
