Head volleyball coach Kaylee Prigge has had Emma Winter on her radar since she graduated from Broomfield High School with 5A Colorado All-State honors and was the Front Range Conference Player of the Year.
Even after she committed to West Virginia and played her freshman season in Morgantown, Prigge was one of the first coaches to reach out to Winter once she entered the transfer portal.
“We recruited Emma the first time out of high school, we were really high on her, really liked her,” Prigge said. “…but she ended up graduating early and committing to West Virginia. Then she was in the portal and [we] immediately reached out.”
Winter had initially committed to and played her freshman season at West Virginia because of the opportunity to compete at one of the highest levels in collegiate volleyball. West Virginia competes in the Big 12 conference, which sent seven teams to the NCAA tournament last year. Winter wasn’t going to reject an opportunity to compete in one of the most prestigious volleyball conferences in the nation when it arose.
“I felt like, if I’m going to be playing the best, it’s going to make me the best,” Winter said of her decision to play at West Virginia.
However, as Winter soon learned, that wouldn’t quite be the case. West Virginia ended up finishing dead last in the Big 12 in her freshman season, only winning two conference matchups while ending the season on a 10 game losing streak.
“It wasn’t quite what I needed,” Winter said of her time at West Virginia.
“I always felt like I was playing catch up in the eyes of my coaches, and I felt like every error I would make was like, ‘oh I’m not going to play’ and stuff like that,” she added.
Since Prigge was one of the first coaches to reach out to Winter in the portal and already had contact with her through their previous recruiting ventures, it wasn’t too difficult to get Winter to travel down to Laramie for a visit, especially with her nearby local ties.
“It seemed like going through this process a second time with Emma, her priorities were a little bit different as far as what she was looking for, and this seemed like a really good fit as far as what we could provide for her and vice versa,” Prigge said.
Despite everything falling into place for both Winter and Prigge, Winter was still blindly jumping onto the team. Since her visit took place over the summer, she didn’t get to meet much of the team, which is often a big point of contention for a player transferring into a new program,
“[There were] only two people that I met because it was during summer when I took my visit, but I kind of took a leap of faith,” Winter said.
It wouldn’t take long for Winter to become acclimated in her new environment, though, as the team quickly took to her and embraced her as one of their own.
“You have to be open minded, because you can’t just walk into a new team and expect to be best friends with everyone,” Winter said. “But the girls treated me great, and I’ve already made really good friends.”
Winter not only found herself quickly socially accepted into the team, but also has quickly found herself in an important role for the team.
Winter’s role and impact in these early contests has also been expedited by the Cowgirls’ returning kill leader from last year, Rylee Schulz, suffering an injury before the season started. Winter has slid seamlessly in Schulz place, leading the Cowgirls in total kills at 56 through their first five games.
Prigge added that it’s Winter’s left-handedness, shockingly enough, that is one of her most advantageous abilities she brings to the team.
“An attacker that’s a lefty, I think, kind of adds a nice wrinkle and dynamic to our offense that we didn’t already have,” Prigge said.
“[We’re] excited about Emma’s future as she continues to grow in her role and feel more and more comfortable in our systems,” Prigge added.
Winter has done just that, getting better with each contest they’ve played so far this season. In fact, Winter has had her best performance to date in the Cowgirls’ most recent contest against Cleveland State on the road. She had a career high 15 kills in that one, and also marked an accurate .367 hitting percentage.
Winter will also have a stab at the competition she so eagerly sought out while at West Virginia, with the Cowgirls traveling down to her home state of Colorado to take place in the Buffs Invitational in Boulder. The Cowgirls will take on power conference schools California and Colorado, where they’ll be putting their current undefeated record on the line.
But whether the Cowgirls come out of Boulder undefeated or not, Winter’s presence on this team has been undeniable and her effectiveness on the court has only increased with time, especially with the belief her coaches and teammates have in her.
“She’s just a pleasure to be around,” Prigge said. “I think everyone on the team gravitates to her.”
