LARAMIE, Wyo. (Sept. 23, 2026) – The Wyoming Cowgirls open Mountain West play at home this weekend as they welcome in new conference foe and former WAC rival UTEP for a pair of contests. The Cowgirls and Miners face off at 6:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday night at 6 p.m.
Wyoming (7-4) comes in on a three-match winning streak, after going 3-0 last weekend at the Idaho State Orange & Black Classic. The Cowgirls defeated former Mountain West rival Boise State in five sets before taking out the host-Bengals in a sweep. UW closed the tourney with a four-set win over Pacific.
Rylee Heinz was named the Old Trapper Mountain West Freshman of the Week Monday for her performance at Idaho State. Heinz averaged 2.50 kills and 3.13 points per set in the three matches while hitting .344. Heinz also tallied 13 total blocks for 1.08 per set. During non-conference play, Heinz was third in the league in hitting efficiency at .339 and is sixth in the MW averaging 0.98 blocks per set.
Emma Winter led the Cowgirls averaging 2.83 kills per set last weekend while hitting .347. On the season, Winter ranks 10th in the conference with a .318 hitting percentage. Also individually, Peyton Carruth ranks third in the Mountain West averaging 0.38 service aces per set, while Wyoming is second as a team averaging 1.47 aces per. UW also ranks third in the league in assists (11.33) and blocks per set (2.09) while its opponent hitting percentage of .197 is second-best in the Mountain West. Paige Lauterwasser continues to lead the Cowgirls in hitting averaging 2.60 kills per set and leads the way with 2.92 points a set. Lauterwasser is just 16 kills shy of reaching the 1,000-Kills Club at Wyoming.
UTEP, who has reached each of the last two NCAA Tournaments and advanced to the Championship Match of the 2023 NIVC, enters its first season of Mountain West play at 8-4 overall, with a tough non-conference schedule. The Miners are led by Mackenzi Davis and Luvina Oguntimehin with 100 and 98 kills, respectively. Oguntimehin leads UTEP averaging 2.28 kills per set and ranks ninth in the MW with a .318 hitting percentage. Lauren Perry's 0.56 service aces per set leads the league while Kalia Kohler's 5.42 assists per ranks eighth in the conference. As a team, the Miners are second (.239) and third (.198) in team hitting percentage and opponent hitting percentage, respectively. UTEP is tops in the Mountain West averaging 1.58 aces per set. The Miners also lead the MW with 2.51 blocks per set this season.
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