Cowgirl Volleyball Hosts Double Header Tuesday

After spending the entire month of September on the road, the Wyoming volleyball team returns to the UniWyo Sports Complex for a doubleheader with Colorado and Black Hills State on Tuesday evening. The Cowgirls will open up the twin-bill against regional rival Colorado at 5 p.m. MT., the first meeting between the schools since 1999. Wyoming will end the night against Black Hills State at 8 p.m. MT., the first meeting with the Yellow Jackets in UW volleyball history.

Wyoming dropped a pair of Mountain West matches last week to drop to 0-3 in conference play. New Mexico defeated the Cowgirls in three sets (14-25, 16-25, 14-25) on Thursday in Albuquerque, N.M. UW then fell to Air Force on Saturday in four sets (22-25, 23-25, 25-23, 23-25) in UW's first loss to the Falcons since 2003.

Senior middle blocker Reese Plante recorded 20 kills last week to surpass 700 in her career. She is now the fifth Cowgirl in program history to record 700 kills and 400 blocks. Senior libero Becky Stewart moved to tenth in career digs in Mountain West history, after recording a combined 26 digs against New Mexico and Air Force. Colorado comes into Tuesday's match with an impressive 9-2 record. The Buffs are 1-1 in the Pac-12, including a five set victory over No. 11 UCLA on Friday. CU is averaging 12.74 kills per set with 535 kills on the season. The Buffs are hitting .256 (567-206-1408) in their 11 contests, as the Buffs rank eighth in the Pac-12. Defensively, Colorado is averaging 15.02 digs per set and 2.35 blocks per frame. CU is paced offensively by junior outside hitter Taylor Simpson, as she is recording 3.47 kills per set on the season with 118 kills. Sophomore setter Nicole Edelman leads the team with 10.28 assists per set. Defensively, freshman defensive specialist Cierra Simpson leads the Buffs in digs with 3.33 per set. Senior middle blocker Nikki Lindow is CU's leader in blocks at 1.52 per set. She has 47 blocks on the season.

Black Hills State heads into Tuesday night's contest sporting a 5-7 overall record. The Yellow Jackets dropped a pair of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference matches over the weekend, falling to CU-Colorado Springs in four sets and South Dakota Mines in five sets. Black Hills State's 2013 roster features five players from the state of Wyoming. The NCAA Division II member has recorded 605 kills on the season, averaging 12.60 per kills set. Defensively, BHSU averages 16.0 digs per set and 2.42 blocks per frame, as they rank 26th in blocks in NCAA Division II. The Yellow Jackets are paced offensively by senior outside hitter Amy O'Neil, as she is averaging 4.31 kills per set with 207 on the season. Freshman setter Brynn Eckhardt guides the offense at 10.62 assists per set. Defensively, junior libero Kelsey Olson leads the team in digs with 241 on the season, averaging 5.02 per frame.