LARAMIE – The Grizzle house is divided between brown and the blue (turf).
 
Emerging Wyoming volleyball star Sierra Grizzle's younger brother Troy is a freshman on the Boise State football team.
 
However, the two siblings still share a unique family coaching connection. Cowgirls head coach Kaylee Prigge is the daughter of Broncos offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter.
 
"We've got two Koetters coaching Grizzles, which is fun," Prigge said with a laugh when asked about prying her Grizzle out of Boise to play for the Cowgirls. "My dad says good things about Troy, too, so that's awesome. No doubt that is a testament to Sierra's parents and the job that they've done raising those two."
 
Grizzle, the reigning Mountain West defensive player of the week, didn't know much about UW while playing for an elite club team and dominating at Mountain View High School in Meridan, Idaho.
 
Prigge attended several of the talented prep prospect's matches and eventually convinced her to make a trip to Laramie.
 
"I loved it," Grizzle said. "Driving into this small town and seeing the area, the community here is so amazing. Then walking into the facilities people were just so nice and everyone was so welcoming. I just knew right from the beginning when I got here that I wanted to come here."
 
Grizzle said her brother also visited UW during his recruiting process, but the defensive end and long snapper committed to Boise State last Thanksgiving as the Broncos were righting the ship on the way to a MW title.
 
"He liked it here, too. I think he's a home body," Grizzle said. "He loves it there and it has kind of created this fun rivalry since he's at Boise State, but we still have love for each other."
 
As a true freshman last season, Grizzle was one of four Cowgirls to appear in all 121 sets. She started the final 17 matches at libero and led the team with 330 digs and was second in service aces (34) and assists (86).
 
Prigge was not surprised by Grizzle's seamless transition to the collegiate level.
 
"I thought it was going to be hard to keep her off the court as a freshman in some capacity," Prigge said. "She's a competitor and she works her butt off and has high standards for herself."
 
UW finished 22-10 overall during Prigge's first season as head coach and made the program's first postseason appearance since 2019.
 
The Cowgirls (2-0) are off to another fast start after opening the season with a thrilling 25-22, 19-25, 23-25, 25-17, 15-11 win over Washington State before sweeping tournament host Omaha last weekend in Omaha, Neb.
 
In the five-set comeback win over the Cougars, Grizzle had a career-high 34 digs. Improving that area of her game was a focus during the offseason.
 
"We came together as a team, and we played super well," Grizzle said. "We did what we needed to do, we got a W and that's all that matters. It was such a cool opportunity for us to play such a good team in our first game and give us this confidence boost going into this next weekend."
 
UW only hit .104 collectively against Washington State but grinded out a quality non-conference victory with a tone-setting defensive effort led by Grizzle.
 
The Cowgirls held Omaha, the reigning Summit League champions, to a .107 attack percentage while hitting a more efficient .242 in the gritty 25-23, 25-18, 31-29 road win. Grizzle had 11 digs and four aces.
 
"If you're in that role you have to be such a rock and such a leader. I think that's where she has grown more than anywhere else," said UW assistant Beck Baker, who coaches the liberos. "Physically she has grown a ton, and she'll continue to do so, but I think what has really allowed her to step into those moments and have the success that she's having and help our team have the success that we're having is because of the growth she has made in the mental part of the game."
 
Grizzle was an outside hitter until her senior year of high school when she made the switch to libero, a position designated by a different jersey color that requires strong defensive and passing skills.
 
"Going from being the attacker to getting attacked out like that was different," Grizzle said. "But I think it really helped me because I could read what the hitter was doing because I've been there, I've hit before. I knew kind of what they were doing."
 
The 5-foot-6 sophomore is surrounded by a skilled cast that includes outside hitters Emma Winter (23 kills), Paige Lauterwasser (15 kills) and Abi Milby (16 kills), middle blockers Sarah Holcomb (14 kills, 13 blocks) and Kayla Mazzocca (14 kills) and all-MW setter Kasia Partyka (69 assists).
 
UW has three matches this weekend in Mazzocca's home state of Ohio. The Cowgirls play twice on Friday against Texas-Rio Grand Valley (9 a.m.) and Akron (4 p.m.) in Akron, and play Cleveland State at 10 a.m. Saturday in Cleveland.
 
"We're all pumped. I think that's the right word," Grizzle said. "We're ready to go because we've trained so hard all summer, all spring and now preseason. We're excited and motivated to go beat teams that have tough girls."
 
If you are interested in learning more about NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) or would like to support our student-athletes, please visit 1wyo.org. 1WYO was created out of Wyoming's culture of neighbor helping neighbor. The mission is to promote and strengthen local charitable organizations and develop Wyoming student athletes. 
 
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