USAFA, Colo. (Oct. 10, 2026) – It was another four-set battle against the Air Force Falcons Saturday for the Wyoming Cowgirls, with two sets going to "extra" points but the Cowgirls prevailed after dropping the first set, 25-23 and won the next three, 25-22, 28-26 and 29-27.
The Cowgirls' (10-7, 3-3 MW) service game was a big factor in them winning the third and fourth sets. Wyoming had 10 service aces in the victory while Air Force tallied five. UW recorded six service aces alone in its third set comeback, including five from Anna Melgren herself in the frame. Melgren had a career-high seven aces overall in the win.
Wyoming was able to score the final two points of the third set to escape to take a two sets to one lead in the match. The Cowgirls trailed at one point in the third, 15-8 before Melgren started her run. In the fourth, UW had a 19-13 lead before the Falcons came storming back. AFA also had set point at 26-25 before a Ruby Jensen killed tied things up. Tied at 27-27, Paige Lauterwasser recorded back-to-back kills to close things out for Wyoming in the thrilling win.
Lauterwasser was sensational on the day, pacing Wyoming with season-highs in both kills (20) and digs (19). Jensen closed the match with a career-best 13 kills and hit .520 against Air Force, not committing a single error. Addy Thorington finished with 12 kills. Jensen also led UW with three total blocks.
UW hit .232 on the day while Air Force hit .207. The Falcons enjoyed a 10-5 team block advantage, as it really helped Air Force in its first set win and in the fourth set comeback. Wyoming had nine more kills and six more digs in the contest.
Sara Quigley led Wyoming with a season-best 35 assists against the Falcons. Maddy Stucky recorded a double-double as she registered 24 assists, a season high and had 10 digs. Peyton Carruth added a career-best 15 digs to go along with a pair of kills.
Next week, the Cowgirls welcome in Hawai'i for a pair of matches in Laramie. Wyoming begins its two matches with Hawai'i at 6:30 p.m., Thursday. It will be Autism Awareness Night at the UniWyo Sports Complex.
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