LARAMIE – There were a lot of awkward Zoom interviews during the pandemic.
 
Sarah Holcomb thought she spiked her first recruiting interaction with Wyoming into the cheap seats.
 
"Wyoming reached out to me the first day they were allowed to. I talked to them, and it definitely was not my best call," Holcomb recalled this week. "They asked what I could work on and I told them I'm a little lazy on the court. After the call my mom was like, OK, there's some things you need to work on. I actually didn't hear from them for a while after that call and I thought I blew it, but they reached back out and they just made me feel so appreciated.

"I feel like I've been overlooked and they gave me a chance."
 
Holcomb, who is from Dallas, grew up on horses and competed as an equestrian show jumper. She also played basketball through middle school before transitioning to volleyball in high school.
 
"My mom played basketball in college. I think she would get frustrated watching me play basketball and she realized I was getting too tall for horseback riding," Holcomb said. "We were literally in the Whataburger drive-thru and she was like, 'You should try volleyball.' I was like, 'heck no.'"
 
Holcomb was concerned about starting volleyball late. The fact that she was not on her club's first team at big tournaments was not an issue for UW.
 
In fact, then assistant Kaylee Prigge knew the Cowgirls would be stealing a talented prospect from Plano East High School if they could land Holcomb, who would also be highly motivated to develop after being under-recruited.
 
"Sarah and I have had many conversations about that putting a chip on her shoulder," Prigge said.
 
As a true freshman in 2022, Holcomb played in 17 matches (11 starts), finishing with 80 kills (1.45 per set) and 50 total blocks (0.91 a set). Chad Callihan, the program's all-time wins leader, left UW after the season and Prigge was elevated to head coach.
 
The 6-foot-2 Holcomb has been a pillar for Prigge at middle blocker while leading the Mountain West in blocks the past two seasons.
 
"It has been amazing. I wouldn't want to help build it with anyone else," Holcomb said of playing for Prigge. "Kaylee was part of the reason I came here. She has been advocating for me before I was even here. I think seeing her grow and seeing her plans fall into place, I wouldn't want to have it any other way. I love being part of it however I can and giving her what she needs to help grow the program."
 
This year Holcomb improved her offensive game and is currently second in the conference in hitting percentage (.383) and second on the team with 248 kills behind Paige Lauterwasser (254).
 
"Sarah has been a physical force who affects how other teams play us from the day she got here," Prigge said. "On the offensive side there was much more development that went into that, and it has been really cool to watch her slowly develop over time and you are really seeing the fruition of that this year."
 
The Cowgirls (13-12 overall, 9-5) are currently third in the conference standings entering Thursday's match at UNLV (7:30 p.m., MW Network).
 
Holcomb tallied 14 kills and hit .414 during last week's four-set victory at Boise State, which separated UW from the fourth-place Broncos (16-9, 8-6) in the standings with four games remaining in the regular season.

The top six teams in the regular season advance to the MW Championship tournament Nov. 26-29 in Las Vegas.
 
"All the years I've been here we've been in similar positions where we're just right outside the top six teams and we're relying on other teams' outcomes to maybe get in there," Holcomb said. "I think being in a better spot right now this time of the year is definitely exciting and motivates us."
 
Holcomb said she is focused on the Rebels and has not thought about the emotions she will be experiencing when UW closes out the regular season with matches against New Mexico (Nov. 20) and Grand Canyon (Nov. 22) in the UniWyo Sports Complex.
 
Prigge believes Holcomb is an inspiration for the young fans in the crowd and that she has a chance to lead the Cowgirls into the postseason before playing professionally after graduating.
 
"Ultimately, what makes Sarah good is her confidence in who she is," Prigge said. "I don't feel like that ever wavers and with young girls that's hard. She has just nailed that, and she leads our team in that charge, and our team relies on that confidence."
 
Follow Ryan for more stories on Wyoming athletics on X at @By_RyanThorburn on Facebook at Wyoming Athletics and Instagram at wyoathletics. Also follow him at Pokes Insider at Gowyo.com/pokesinsider.
 
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