Colorado State boasts one of the best women’s volleyball teams in the country. They are ranked 15th in the nation and sit atop the Mountain West Conference standings.

Wyoming has the task of playing this team on their home turf, a team that has lost only one game in Fort Collins this season, and is riding an eight game winning streak prior to their match against Denver Thursday night.

“CSU is a great team. They’re not ranked 15th in the country because they haven’t been playing well,” volleyball head coach Carrie Yerty said.

Despite the rival aspect and “Border War” hype in this match, Wyoming has respect for their conference foe. “I take a lot of pride that we get the opportunity to play CSU and be in the same conference as a team that’s 15thin the country,” Yerty said.

She said that despite their national ranking and success, the Cowgirls won’t be intimidated against the Rams. “[CSU head coach] Tom Hilbert and I go way back and he knows we’re going to bring our best effort and we’re going to be ready to play and go after it. I’m sure he’s going to do the same.”

Wyoming (19-4, 4-3) and Colorado State (17-2, 7-0) boast the two best overall records in the conference. The Cowgirls are led by sophomore outside hitter Jodi Purdy, who is fourth in the conference in kills with 3.39 per set and second in service aces with .40 per set. Senior middle blocker JennaRae Jester ranks second in the conference in blocks with 1.43 per set and sophomore libero Jadranka Tramoslijanin leads the conference in digs, averaging 4.40 per set. She is fourth in service aces with .33 per set, according to Wyoming Athletics.

Redshirt sophomore Megan Plourde has been a big part of the Rams’ success this season. She is second in the conference in hitting percentage at .367 and leads the conference in blocks with 1.54 per set, according to Wyoming Athletics.

Wyoming will head to California next week as they face another conference opponent in San Diego State.

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