LARAMIE — The Wyoming Cowgirls will wrap up their 2026 nonconference schedule this week at the Idaho State Orange & Black Classic, opening the tournament Thursday against Boise State before facing host Idaho State on Friday and Pacific on Saturday.
Wyoming, 4-4, will play Boise State at 4 p.m. Thursday, followed by a 7 p.m. match against Idaho State on Friday. The Cowgirls will close the tournament at noon Saturday against Pacific. Friday’s match against Idaho State and Saturday’s contest against Pacific will be streamed on ESPN+.
The Cowgirls are coming off a 1-2 weekend at the UniWyo Invite. Wyoming opened the tournament with a five-set victory over UC Santa Barbara, with Rylee Heinz, Paige Lauterwasser and Addy Thorington each recording 10 kills. In Friday’s four-set loss to South Dakota, Anna Williams posted a career-high six total blocks before making her first career start the following night against Colorado State. Williams had five kills and hit .455 in the start, while Emma Winter led Wyoming with seven kills and hit .500 against the Rams.
Wyoming enters the weekend ranked third in the Mountain West in team blocks per set at 2.16. The Cowgirls are fifth in the conference in hitting percentage at .201 and fifth in opponent hitting percentage at .206. Heinz ranks fifth individually with a .336 hitting percentage and 10th with 0.94 blocks per set, while Ruby Jensen ranks fifth in the league with 0.96 blocks per set. Fingerlin ranks seventh in the Mountain West with 3.19 digs per set.
Lauterwasser leads Wyoming with 78 kills and averages 2.52 kills per set. She is 50 kills away from joining Wyoming’s 1,000-kill club. Lauterwasser also averages 2.68 digs per set, which ranks second on the team, and has a team-high 89 points this season.
Boise State enters the tournament 0-2 in neutral-site matches. Sydney Dreves leads the Broncos with 95 kills, averaging 2.79 per set, and is one of three Boise State players averaging at least two kills per set. Kendall Hastings leads the team with 48 total blocks, averaging 1.41 per set, while Melia Barlow leads the Broncos with 4.38 digs per set and 12 service aces. Boise State averages 1.65 aces and 2.38 blocks per set. The Cowgirls and Broncos split their meetings last season.
Idaho State is 7-2 and will play its first home matches of the season this week. The Bengals average 2.44 blocks per set, led by Jaydin Watts at 1.50 per set. Watts has 74 kills and is hitting .343, while Mia Walsh leads Idaho State with 77 kills. Aspen Boice averages 4.48 digs per set, helping the Bengals average 18.15 team digs per set. In Idaho State’s two-setter offense, Nora Waddoups averages a team-high 6.45 assists per set, while Kadence Marsh averages 5.42.
Pacific enters the tournament with all four of its victories coming in neutral-site matches. Nicole Zake leads the Tigers with 95 kills, while Ellie Prindl has a team-high 24 total blocks, averaging 0.96 per set. Isabella Gutierrez leads Pacific with 4.41 digs per set. Alessia Couchond has a team-high 166 assists, with Chloe Giehtbrock adding 94. The Tigers are hitting .158 as a team this season.
