LARAMIE, Wyo. (Sept. 2, 2026) – The Wyoming Cowgirls hit the road for the first time on the young 2026 season this weekend as they make a trip to Salt Lake City for the Utah/BYU Nike Invitational. Wyoming will play matches Friday through Sunday at the tournament and open at 7 p.m., against the host-Utes. The Cowgirls will then face Eastern Illinois Saturday and Long Beach State Sunday, with both matches' first serves at noon.
UW is coming off a 2-0 weekend to begin the season at last week's Rumble in the Rockies. The Cowgirls defeated Texas Tech in four sets to open 2026 and closed the weekend with a sweep over St. Thomas. Paige Lauterwasser led Wyoming with 27 kills (3.86 per set) and 4.14 points per set while hitting .500 over the weekend. For her efforts, Lauterwasser was named the Old Trapper Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week Monday. She also eclipsed 1,000 career points against the Tommies.
As a team against St. Thomas Sunday, the Cowgirls hit .437, their highest single-match team hitting percentage since 2014.
Emma Winter also flourished for the Cowgirls on opening weekend, tallying 20 kills while hitting a blistering .559. In the back row, Rya Fingerlin averaged 4.14 digs per set and was one four Cowgirls to record a pair of service aces. Sara Quigley and Maddy Stucky recorded 43 and 34 assists, respectively in the two wins.
Through the opening weekend of play, Wyoming leads the Mountain West in five statistical categories. UW is first in the league in kills (13.57) and assists per set (12.43) while also leading the way in team hitting percentage (.345) and opponent hitting percentage (.147). Defensively, the Cowgirls lead the MW with 2.29 blocks per. Individually, Cowgirls are scattered about all over the top-10 in the league in individual categories. Winter's hitting percentage is tops in the league while Lauterwasser is second. Reagan Sharp's 1.20 blocks per set leads the league while Ryle Heinz's 1.14 per is second. Lauterwasser is also third in the conference in kills and points per set. Fingerlin's digs per ranks second-best.
Utah enters the tournament after a 3-0 opening weekend to 2026. The Utes are led by a trio of high-octane attackers in Loryn Helgesen (43 kills), Kamryn Gibadlo (35) and Ashley West (21). Helgesen and West are hitting .443 and .459, respectively. Izzy Mogridge leads Utah with 82 assists, 9.11 per set. As a team, the Utes are hitting .278 and averaging 2.78 blocks per set while holding opponents to just a .139 attack percentage.
Eastern Illinois, who was an NCAA Tournament participant last season, enters the weekend at 1-2 overall, with both losses coming on the road. The Panthers are led by Katie Kopshever's 41 kills. Peyton Castillo's 7.64 assists per set paces EIU. Emma Hanson leads Eastern Illinois with 15 total blocks.
Long Beach State is 0-2 in 2026, with both losses coming against UCLA. LBSU is led by Sidney Hamaker's 27 kills and five total blocks this season. Madi Maxwell paces The Beach with 51 assists and is averaging a team-high 4.71 digs per set. Hamaker and Maxwell lead Long Beach State with three and two service aces, respectively.
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