LARAMIE, Wyo. (Oct. 6, 2026) – The Wyoming Cowgirls return to action this week with a home-and-road split against Air Force. The Cowgirls host the Falcons at 6 p.m., Thursday before traveling to the academy for a 2 p.m., match Saturday.
Wyoming (8-7, 1-3 MW) is coming off picking up its first Mountain West victory of the season the last time out at San Jose State on Saturday. The Cowgirls swept the Spartans to close their week at SJSU. UW lost the opener against San Jose State Thursday night in four sets.
Emma Winter led the Cowgirl attack in the two matches last week with 22 kills and hit .383 in the split. In the win against the Spartans, Paige Lauterwasser tallied a team-best 13 kills. Thursday, Addy Thorington recorded her first-career double-double as she notched 10 kills and a career-high 10 digs.
Individually, Lauterwasser continues to pace Wyoming in kills (2.61) and points (2.94) per set. Rylee Heinz ranks fourth in the Mountain West this season with a .342 hitting percentage while her 0.98 blocks per set ranks fifth in the league. Peyton Carruth is averaging 0.37 service aces per set and had four Saturday against SJSU. Carruth ranks sixth in the conference in service aces per. Rya Fingerlin's 3.11 digs per set ranks eighth-best in the MW.
As a team, Wyoming ranks third in the league in team service aces with 1.49. The Cowgirls rank fifth in the Mountain West in three different statistical categories. UW is fifth in assists (11.25) and kills (12.19) per set while its .215 team hitting percentage also ranks fifth.
Air Force is led by the league's best hitter statistically this season in Alysa Walker. Walker leads the Mountain West in both kills (3.97) and points (4.27) per set. Grace Fiaseu's .377 hitting percentage in 2026 ranks second in the league. The Falcons also have the conference's leader in digs per set in Ella Vogel's 4.29 per set. Mia Loyd's 6.12 assists per set ranks sixth in the MW while Lanie Stapleton is 10th in the league averaging 0.85 blocks per. As a team, the Falcons lead the Mountain West in team digs with 15.90 per set. Air Force ranks fifth in the league (2.02) in team blocks per set and is sixth in both assists (11.21) and kills (12.10) per set in 2026.
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