LARAMIE – Kaylee Prigge paused to hold back some tears earlier this week when asked about Skylar Erickson.
 
Wyoming's head coach is thankful that her senior libero will keep the team even keel during this weekend's final regular season home matches against New Mexico at 6:30 p.m. Thursday and Grand Canyon at 6 p.m. Saturday in the UniWyo Sports Complex.
 
"One of the things about Skylar is just how consistent she is from an emotional standpoint," Prigge said. "She is a very steady rock back there and for the most part everybody on the team is comfortable with her passing. That's such an important skill. She really does provide that support and mental and emotional stability on our team."
 
Erickson and Sarah Holcomb, the reigning Mountain West defensive player of the week, could be playing their final home matches for the Cowgirls (15-12 overall, 11-5 MW) but the postseason awaits.
 
UW, currently third in the standings, clinched a spot in the MW Championships Nov. 26-29 in Las Vegas after sweeping last weekend's road trip with dominant wins over UNLV (3-1) and San Diego State (3-0).
 
"It's going to be very emotional, especially having all my family there," Erickson said. "It's going to be a great environment. I already know that with all our fans they care so much about us. I think it will just be special."
 
Erickson had 26 digs in the previous two matches and is two shy of becoming the 10^th player in program history to reach 1,000 career digs. She had 127 digs as a freshman, 292 as a sophomore, 203 as a junior and 376 so far this season stepping into more of a lead role.
 
"It was a no-brainer that she was ready to fill that role," Prigge said. "We see ourselves as a developmental program and there needs to be some getting better. Skylar has always had productive spring semesters as far as doing that. She has a great serve. It was all there."
 
Erickson was an unlikely recruiting target when she attended a UW volleyball camp as an outside hitter from a small club team. Associate head coach Becky Baker was the first member of the staff to see something special in the prospect from Caldwell, Idaho.
 
"Becky saw it in her, and we knew she could do it," Prigge said. "We knew she was the kid we wanted in this role so that process was really cool."
 
Erickson had 13 digs and two aces during UW's breakthrough four-set win at Boise State on Nov. 6, which separated the Cowgirls from the Broncos in the conference race.
 
"That was the most memorable one for me because I was home," Erickson said. "We always have competitive games with Boise State. It has always been like that. Coming in there and doing it was really cool."
 
Erickson and Holcomb have been helping Prigge rebuild the program since she was promoted to head coach following their freshman season. Now they are leading a young Cowgirl roster to its first MW Championships since the conference brought the six-team tournament back in 2021.
 
"It was a big change for us, but we were comfortable with her already. We knew it was going to be OK. I think we helped her in a way to figure out our culture and improving it on and off the court," Erickson said. "We've been looking forward to this for three years now and have been trying our hardest to get there. Having clinched our spot early was the best feeling instead of waiting until the end. It's special because it is the first time we have been able to do that with Kaylee.
 
"It feels so good."
 
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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