LARAMIE, Wyo. (Oct. 6, 2015) – With six-consecutive home victories, Cowgirl volleyball returns to Laramie for another week of Mountain West action, welcoming Air Force and New Mexico to the UniWyo Sports Complex this weekend. UW will face the Falcons at 6:30 p.m. MT on Thursday and the Lobos at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
“It will be another tough weekend for us,” UW head coach Chad Callihan said. “We know we can’t let teams hang around and gain confidence. Both of these teams have enough talent to show they are capable of winning games against tough competition. We have to make sure we are ready to compete and that we are able to match their defensive intensity.”
Wyoming will go for its 11th-straight victory at home and fourth-straight overall against Air Force. UW has not lost to the Falcons at home since 2003 and have won 21 of the last 22 matches between the schools. The match on Thursday night will also feature exclusive gold rush t-shirts to the first 500 students. Saturday’s match against New Mexico will be the “Dig for the Cure” match as the first 500 fans will receive pink wristbands and are encouraged to wear pink.
UW (13-3, 3-1 MW) swept San Diego State for the first time in San Diego last Thursday night before falling in five to Nevada Saturday afternoon. A number of offensive options has paced Wyoming this season and Kayla Slofkiss is leading the way. She recorded two double-doubles this past weekend and continues to lead the Cowgirls with eight on the season, in addition to being tied for the MW lead. Slofkiss has 165 kills on the year, as Laura Beach and Bridget Shanahan are close behind with 153 and 140, respectively. Courtney Chacon recorded her fifth double-double of the season against Nevada. She leads UW with 326 assists and an average of 5.34 per set. Allison Waldvogel has 270 digs through the first 16 matches and Reed Copeland has 91 total blocks for the Cowgirls. Copeland not only continues to lead the MW but is third in the NCAA in blocks per set with 1.57, and fifth in total blocks with 91.
Air Force (8-10, 1-2 MW) was swept by San Jose State last Thursday after defeating SDSU in four sets the weekend prior. Senior Akokwe Clement is second in the MW averaging 3.58 kills per set and has 249 kills on the season to lead the Falcons. Taylor Parker is the team-leader with 70 total blocks, as Rebecca Bates has 226 digs and Sarah Hellman has recorded 424 assists. New Mexico (9-7, 2-1 MW) has wins over Nevada and San Jose State in MW action. Devanne Sours is fourth in the MW with 3.36 kills per set. She has 205 to pace the Lobos. Simone Henderson has a .355 hitting percentage (140-35-296), while Hannah Johnson is fourth in the MW with an average of 9.67 assists per set and has a total of 580.
On Saturday tickets at the door for fans that wear pink will be $5 for adults and $3 for youth (3-18). Fans may purchase tickets through the Wyoming Athletics Ticket Office at 877-WYO-FAN1 (877-996-3261) or online at GoWyo.com. A silent auction of three non-game worn jerseys will take place on the concourse during the match with proceeds going to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center. The link above is for those interested in game-worn jerseys.