With the start of the 2024 volleyball season right around the corner, Central Wyoming College head coach, Kim Davis, is really excited about her team's potential. Davis, in her second season at the helm of Rustler volleyball, believes she has a great mixture of returning sophomores and new recruits. Last season started with a rough stretch of highly competitive tournaments with the Rustlers not getting their first win of the season until September 2nd. Once CWC started Region IX North Division play, the early season competition paid off and the Rustlers finished division play with a 7-5 record. Central Wyoming hit their stride at the Region IX tournament in Sterling, Colorado, working their way through the losers' bracket, finishing two games from qualifying for the national tournament. Their 2023 overall record was 11-21.

Returning from that team are four experienced sophomores including Khloe Hobson (OH, Preston, ID), Kaela Small (OH/RS, Brigham City, UT), Bella Torres (DS/L, Nampa, ID) and Ryann Vail (MB, North Logan, UT). Coach Davis has a lot of confidence in her returners. 

"I'm really excited about this sophomore class. There may only be four of them but each one brings leadership and commitment to the program," said Davis. "They work hard day in and day out and have great attitudes that will contribute to our success."

Davis worked hard in recruiting 15 newcomers to the CWC volleyball program.

"Since I was hired late in the process last year, I wanted to get a jump in recruiting for this season. I think Rustler volleyball fans will be impressed by the caliber of play this freshman class brings to CWC," noted the veteran coach. The class includes 10 players from Utah, four from Wyoming and one from America Samoa. All were decorated high school and/or club players. Coach Davis notes that her team will be very athletic but will also display a high level of volleyball IQ. So far, she has been very impressed with their dedication and team cohesion.

The Rustlers have several early season scrimmages against Montana Western, Northeastern Junior College and Otero Junior College before hosting the intrasquad Orange and Black scrimmage on Thursday, August 22nd. The first official competition of the season is on Friday, August 30th when CWC travels to Salt Lake City to compete in the Crystal Innvitational. Their first game will be against the College of Southern Idaho. They will also play Utah State Eastern, Arizona Western and North Idaho College. CWC does not have a home match until September 27th. 

"Our schedule has a challenging start again this season," notes the Rustler head coach. "But I expect us to be very competitive against some of the best junior college programs. The whole goal is to be playing our best volleyball come November and these early season tournaments will prepare us for that."