Lauterwasser Named Preseason All-Mountain West – Cowgirls Picked Fourth

Preseason poll voted on by league’s head coaches

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (Aug. 19, 2026) – The Mountain West released its preseason 2026 volleyball All-Mountain West Team and predicted team order of finish Wednesday afternoon. Paige Lauterwasser was selected to the Preseason All-Mountain West Team while Wyoming was selected to finish fourth as a squad.

Lauterwasser, who was a 2024 and 2025 All-Mountain West Team honoree, led the Cowgirls last season with 314 kills (2.68 per set) and was second on the team with 368 digs (3.15) and 362.5 points. In league play, Lauterwasser averaged 2.75 kills per set, while hitting .215. She also averaged 3.36 digs per and was second on UW with 15 service aces. Lauterwasser is just 22 points shy of reaching 1,000 points for her career.

As a team, Wyoming was picked to finish fourth in the preseason poll and received a total of 69 points. Mountain West newcomers UTEP (84 points) and UC Davis (80) were picked first and second, respectively while Grand Canyon was picked just before the Cowgirls in third, receiving 70 points. Hawai’i, with 67 points rounded-out the top five. Wyoming is coming off a third-place finish last season in the league after going 13-5. The 13 MW wins are the most for the Cowgirls since 2019.

The Cowgirls play Northern Colorado in a pair of exhibitions this weekend. UW and the Bears will play at 6 p.m., August 21 and that will be open to the public. The two teams will play a closed exhibition match, Saturday, Aug. 22. Wyoming officially opens the season with the Rumble in the Rockies Aug. 28 against Texas Tech at 6:30 p.m., and St. Thomas at 1:30 p.m., Aug. 30. Both matches will be played in the Arena-Auditorium.

Watch Wyoming Athletics all season long on the MW+ with all UW home games and all MW conference games on the state of the art app. Fans will also find replays of games, Ragtime Replays featuring great contests in Wyoming history along with other exclusive content. A majority of each subscription purchased through Wyoming's dedicated page will directly support Wyoming Athletics and the Cowboy Joe Club, creating a scalable and sustainable revenue opportunity aligned with fan engagement.

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