POCATELLO, Idaho (Sept. 17, 2026) – The Wyoming Cowgirls opened the Orange & Black Classic hosted by Idaho State Thursday night with a thrilling five-set victory over former Mountain West rival Boise State. Wyoming held on for a 25-20, 16-25, 25-21, 20-25 and 15-8 win over the Broncos.

Emma Winter had a stellar match for the Cowgirls (5-4) Thursday, recording a match- and season-high 17 kills while hitting .417. Winter also tallied three total blocks in the match. Paige Lauterwasser added nine kills of her own while Emerson Macias and Reagan Sharp had eight each.

Rylee Heinz chipped in with seven kills while hitting .333. Heinz also led UW with four total blocks against the Broncos. Sara Quigley and Maddy Stucky each surpassed 20 assists on the day, recording 23 and 20, respectively. Quigley also notched her first double-double of the season adding 10 digs.

Quigley paced a stellar Wyoming serving match with a career-best four service aces. Peyton Carruth added three and two, respectively as the Cowgirls recorded a season-best 10 aces as a team to just four serving errors. UW kept pace with Boise State's serving game, as the Broncos also had 10 aces. Rya Fingerlin led Wyoming with 12 digs.

Wyoming hit .261 as a team in the contest and posted an impressive .368 in the decisive fifth set. The Broncos hit .224 Thursday, but just .045 in the fifth. The Cowgirls hit .283 and .242 in the first and third sets, respectively, the other two sets they won in the match.

Boise State held a 9-7 advantage in team blocks on the night. The Broncos also had a 64-59 edge in kills and recorded three more digs (59-56). Boise committed five blocking errors in the contest, while UW didn't have one – a big factor in the Cowgirl win.

Next up, the Cowgirls face host-Idaho State Friday night at 6 p.m. Friday's match will be streamed live on ESPN+.

-WYO-