LARAMIE, Wyo. (Sept. 10, 2026) – The Wyoming Cowgirls outlasted the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos in a marathon five-set thriller Thursday night to kick-off the UniWyo Invite. The first three sets featured a combined 33 ties and 15 lead changes while the second and third sets went to "extra" points. The Cowgirls were able to dominate in the fifth, leading wire-to-wire in the frame as set scores for the match went 25-21, 24-26, 27-25, 15-25 and 15-6.
After splitting the first two sets in tight battles, Wyoming (4-2) was on the ropes in the third set, trailing by as many as four in the latter stages at 20-16 and 22-18. The Cowgirls also staved off four set points in the third, rallying from 24-21 down to tie the set at 24-24. After a kill by UCSB, the Cowgirls scored the final three points of the third to jump ahead in the match, two sets to one.
UC Santa Barbara controlled the fourth set and looked to be in control of the match. However, UW regrouped in the fifth to take an early 4-1 lead and after UCSB cut it to 4-3, the Cowgirls pushed for an 11-4 advantage after a 7-1 run. Wyoming would close the match with the final four points of the fifth.
A trio of Cowgirls led the way on a balanced offensive night with 10 kills each as Rylee Heinz, Paige Lauterwasser and Addy Thorington all led Wyoming offensively. Heinz hit .333 in the victory and tallied a match-high six total blocks. Thorington added three blocks of her own, as well as an ace. Lauterwasser meanwhile, notched her second double-double of the season as she had 13 digs.
In the back row, Rya Fingerlin led the Cowgirls with 14 digs while Maddy Stucky also registered a double-double as she had 11 digs and 18 assists. Sara Quigley led Wyoming with 20 assists on the night and also had three kills.
Off the bench, Peyton Carruth was dynamite, recording a Wyoming career-high four service aces and 11 digs. Anna Williams had three total blocks in two sets of action.
UCSB hit .198 on the night while Wyoming hit .172. The Cowgirls had a 13-8 advantage in team blocks and had nine aces to the Gauchos' four. UC Santa Barbara also tallied two more serving errors.
Next up for Wyoming is night two of the UniWyo Invite Friday as South Dakota comes to Laramie for a 6 p.m., contest.
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