LARAMIE — The Wyoming Cowgirls will officially open the 2026 volleyball season this weekend when they host the Rumble in the Rockies at the Arena-Auditorium.
Wyoming will face Texas Tech at 6:30 p.m. Friday before closing the tournament against St. Thomas at 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Both matches will be played at the Arena-Auditorium.
The two matches are the first of 14 home matches for the Cowgirls this season and the first of two home tournaments.
Wyoming enters its fourth season under coach Kaylee Prigge after going 17-13 in each of the previous two seasons. The Cowgirls went 13-5 in Mountain West play last season, their most conference victories in a season since 2019, and qualified for the Mountain West Volleyball Championships for the first time since the league moved to the previous six-team format in 2021.
The Cowgirls were picked to finish fourth in the Mountain West preseason poll.
Wyoming returns nine letterwinners from last season and adds seven newcomers. Among the returners is senior Paige Lauterwasser, a two-time All-Mountain West selection who led the Cowgirls with 314 kills last season. She also ranked second on the team with 362.5 points and averaged 3.15 digs per set.
Wyoming also returns Rya Fingerlin, Abi Milby, Sara Quigley, Reagan Sharp, Maddy Stucky, Addy Thorington, Evelyn Udezue, Anna Williams and Emma Winter.
Quigley and Stucky led Wyoming with 707 and 485 assists, respectively, last season as the Cowgirls used a two-setter offense. Winter started the final five matches of the season.
Four freshmen are joining the program: Kristina Bozovic of Podgorica, Montenegro; Rylee Heinz of Rocklin, California; Ruby Jensen of Prescott, Arizona; and Emerson Macias of Murrieta, California.
The Cowgirls also added three transfers in Peyton Carruth from Casper College, Anna Melgren from Houston Christian and Senna Roberts-Navarro from Seton Hall.
Texas Tech enters Friday’s match after going 10-20 last season and winning two Big 12 matches. The Red Raiders added four transfers, including Maggie Boyd, who was the 2026 AVCA National Beach Player of the Year at UCLA and a four-time First Team All-America selection.
Senior Reagan Engler returns after ranking third on the team last season with 235 kills, an average of 2.42 per set. Texas Tech used a 6-2 offense in 2025, with Katelyn Cochran recording 444 assists.
The Red Raiders went 2-10 in true road matches last season.
St. Thomas, Wyoming’s Sunday opponent, was a national power at the Division III level before moving to Division I. The Tommies are entering their sixth season at the Division I level.
St. Thomas went 21-10 last season and 11-5 in the Summit League. The Tommies won the Summit League Tournament before losing to Iowa State in five sets in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Anya Schmidt ranked second on the team as a freshman last season with 342 kills. Senior Morgan Kealy returns after averaging 10.08 assists per set in 2025.
Wyoming’s two matches this weekend will begin a 2026 schedule that includes 14 home matches and two home tournaments.
