LARAMIE — Wyoming volleyball will get an early look at its 2026 team this weekend with a pair of exhibition matches against Northern Colorado before opening the regular season next week.

The Cowgirls and Bears will meet at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21, in a match that is open to the public. The teams will also play a closed exhibition match Saturday, Aug. 22.

Wyoming will officially begin its season Aug. 28 when it hosts Texas Tech at 6:30 p.m. in the Arena-Auditorium as part of the Rumble in the Rockies. The Cowgirls will then face St. Thomas at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 30, also at the Arena-Auditorium.

The exhibition weekend comes after Wyoming was picked to finish fourth in the Mountain West’s preseason poll, which was voted on by the league’s head coaches. The Cowgirls received 69 points.

Mountain West newcomers UTEP and UC Davis were picked first and second, respectively, with 84 and 80 points. Grand Canyon was third with 70 points, one point ahead of Wyoming. Hawai’i rounded out the top five with 67 points.

Wyoming finished third in the conference last season after going 13-5 in league play. The 13 Mountain West victories were the most for the Cowgirls since 2019.

Wyoming also had one player selected to the Preseason All-Mountain West Team, with Paige Lauterwasser earning the honor for the third consecutive season. Lauterwasser was previously an All-Mountain West selection in 2024 and 2025.

Lauterwasser led the Cowgirls last season with 314 kills, averaging 2.68 per set. She ranked second on the team with 368 digs, averaging 3.15 per set, and scored 362.5 points.

In Mountain West play, Lauterwasser averaged 2.75 kills and 3.36 digs per set while hitting .215. She also recorded 15 service aces, which ranked second on the team.

Lauterwasser enters the 2026 season 22 points shy of reaching 1,000 career points.

Wyoming’s first chance to build on last season’s conference finish will come during the exhibition weekend before the Cowgirls begin their regular-season schedule against Texas Tech.