LARAMIE, Wyo. The Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team was picked to finish sixth in the Preseason Mountain West Poll. Announced Wednesday by the league office. The Cowgirls garnered 56 points in the poll.
Wyoming is in its second week of Fall Camp and just held Fall Sports Media Day earlier this week. Fans will have their first opportunity to see the 2024 version of the Cowgirls this Saturday, August 17 at 1 p.m., inside the UniWyo Sports Complex with the Brown & Gold Scrimmage. The scrimmage is free and open to the public. On Aug. 24, the Cowgirls travel to Green River for their annual Outreach Event. UW will host Weber State in a 1 p.m., exhibition match.
“The girls have been working hard in the gym,” said Head Coach Kaylee Prigge at Media Day.
“We only have two weeks for camp, so we have to focus and now is the time to make sure that we get everyone on the same page and we get in lock-step with our system, our defense, everything. I’m excited to see this group in action, I think everyone is super hungry.”
The Cowgirls return 12 student-athletes off last season’s squad that went 22-10 overall and made Wyoming’s first trip to a postseason tournament since 2019. The Cowgirls advanced to the Great Eight round of the NIVC in 2023. It also marked the first time since the 2019 season that the Brown & Gold eclipsed the 20-win mark.
Among the returners for the Cowgirls are All-Mountain West Team honoree and the league’s leader in assists, Kasia Partyka, who’s 10.74 assists per set ranked 12th in the country. Partyka’s 1,299 total assists a season ago were the eighth-most in the nation and the seventh-most in a single season in program history. Honorable Mention All-MW honoree Rylee Schulz also returns to the 2024 squad after she ranked fifth in the league kills per set with 3.28 and was ninth averaging 3.77 points per.
The season officially begins Aug. 30 and 31 with a trip to the Omaha Invitational. The Cowgirls play Washington State at 1 p.m., Mountain to open the season and close the two-game swing the 31st at host-Omaha at 3 p.m. UW’s home opener is slated for Thursday, September 19 against Coppin State at 6:30 p.m., as it opens the UniWyo Invite.
