UW Travels to Phoenix for the GCU Classic this Weekend

* University of Wyoming press release

LARAMIE -- The Wyoming Cowgirls travel away from Laramie for the first time in 2022 as they travel to Phoenix for the GCU Classic, hosted by Grand Canyon. UW faces Santa Clara to open the tournament at 5:30 p.m., MT Friday, September 2 before playing a pair of contests Sept. 3 against Idaho at 11 a.m., and closing at host-Grand Canyon at 8 p.m. Saturday.

Although Wyoming (0-3) went winless to open the season at the Rumble in the Rockies, there were plenty of bright spots for the Cowgirls to open the season. Corin Carruth led the Brown and Gold in all three matches last weekend in kills as she averaged 4.33 per set, a mark that ranks third-best in the Mountain West to begin the season. Carruth, who tallied a career-high 23 kills in the loss to Iowa State, leads the league averaging five points per set on the young season.

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Kasia Partyka, who made her UW debut, notched three consecutive double-doubles over the weekend as she averaged 9.46 assists and 2.46 digs per set last week. Partyka had 45 assists in the season-opener against Wichita State while her 12 digs against then-18^th-ranked Creighton, were a weekend high for the Long Beach State transfer. In the back row defensively, Hailey Zuroske averaged 3.46 digs per set last weekend as she made her first-career starts at the libero position for UW. Zuroske was an outside hitter her first three campaigns at Wyoming.

The Cowgirls had two other student-athletes beyond Partyka to record double-doubles over the weekend. Naya Shimé notched the first two double-doubles of her career as she had 10 kills and 10 digs against Wichita State and then recorded 13 kills and a career-best 12 digs against Creighton. Carruth, meanwhile, had 14 kills and 10 digs against CU, the first double-double for her at UW.

This weekend will be the first-ever meeting between the Cowgirls and Grand Canyon. It is the 11^th meeting all-time with the Vandals of Idaho and first matchup since 2016. SCU and UW will be meeting for the first time since 1997 and fourth time in program history Friday night.

Santa Clara opened 2022 with a 1-2 mark, with the lone win coming via sweep against Chattanooga at the Georgia tournament. The Broncos lost to Troy and at host-Georgia at the tourney. SCU was led by Julia Sangiacomo's 44 kills (4.00 per set) while hitting .380 over the weekend. As a team, the Broncos hit .299 offensively and was spearheaded on offense by Nive Tulieta's 9.09 assists per set. Defensively, Santa Clara was led by Kat Georgiadis' 3.18 digs per set and Lexi Poppinga's eight total blocks. SCU is led by fourth-year Head Coach, Erin Lindsey.

Idaho went 0-3 last weekend at the Youngstown State tournament and are led by first-year Head Coach Chris Gonzalez. The Vandals were well-balanced offensively to open the season, with four student-athletes recording at least 21 kills. Delaney Nicoll led the team with 29 kills over the weekend while Taryn Vrieling tallied 25. Madison Wilson and Allison Munday recorded 24 and 21 kills, respectively. Idaho averaged over two service aces per set last weekend and was led by Munday's four for the weekend. Defensively, the Vandals were led by Vrieling's six total blocks and Aine Doty's 41 digs.

Grand Canyon went 2-1 to open 2022 play at the Montana State Bobcat Open. GCU averaged 2.33 service aces and 12.25 assists per set during the opening weekend. McKenzie Wise led the Lopes with nine aces while Klaire Mitchell averaged 10.08 assists per set individually. GCU hit .247 for the weekend and was led offensively by Megan Taflinger's 37 kills. Melanie Brecka and Tatum Parrott had 32 and 29 kills, respectively. Defensively, Sydney Reed led the squad with 11 total blocks. The Lopes are led by Head Coach Tim Nollan, who is in his seventh season leading the program.

Fans can follow along with live stats at GoWyo.com for all three matches. Saturday evening’s contest against GCU will be streamed live on ESPN+.