Broncos Claim the Weekend Sweep, Down Portland State in Four

Saturday, August 25

Portland, Ore.

1:00 PM

Boise State

2-0

Portland State

1-1

Boise State

Portland State

Photo by: Boise State Photo Services

Broncos Claim the Weekend Sweep, Down Portland State in Four

8/25/2018 5:29:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Roberts records second-straight double-double to lead Boise State.

By: Courtesy: Boise State Athletics

PORTLAND, Ore. (8/25/2018) - Sabryn Roberts' second-consecutive double-double on a team-high 20 kills and 13 digs led Boise State as the Broncos defeated Portland State in four sets 25-20, 20-25, 27-25, 25-12 Saturday afternoon to win the Viking Summer Spike Invitational at Portland, Ore.

"I think we got everything we wanted out of this weekend,' said head coach Shawn Garus. "We got a couple of wins and we got a lot of experience for our young players. I'm really looking forward to getting back to the gym and practicing next week. We now have a little clearer idea of what we need to improve on in order to compete at a high level."

Boise State closes trip to Portland, Ore., with a 3-1 win over Portland State to sweep opening weekend 2-0. Roberts led vs PSU with 20 kills/13 digs, Hughes 13 kills/6 digs, Donahue 10 kills/6 blocks. #BleedBlue @BroncoSports @psuvikesVB @MW_OlySports GO BRONCOS! pic.twitter.com/c8tf4lHppQ
— Boise State VB (@BroncoSportsVB) August 25, 2018

Boise State opened the match fast, then powered through for the victory claiming the first, third and fourth sets. The Broncos were helped by tough serving recording 15 aces in the match with six individuals recording at least one, freshman Jessie Brigham turned in a team-high four.

"I thought the team came out strong in the first set today, that was something we talked about before the match because we had such a slow start yesterday against Long Beach (State)," said Garus. "It was great to see the team come out fast taking the lead early in set one, which we won. We had to make some adjustments during the contest as Portland State battled back in the second and third sets which were both close. But we played really clean in the fourth set to get the win. Overall, a good performance by the team."

The first three sets were close and saw numerous runs by both teams. After the teams split the first two sets by 25-20 scores, the third saw the Broncos claim a 10-point lead only to see the Vikings rally to take a 24-23 advantage and have a set point. The young blue and orange team regrouped to take momentum and the set by a 27-25 score to go up 2-1 in the match.

The fourth set was all Boise State as the Broncos stormed out to a 8-1 lead and never looked back, eventually taking it by 13 points to secure the match victory. The blue and orange hit 26.3 percent in the decisive set and held PSU to a -10.3 percent. The win gave Boise State the Viking Summer Spike Invitational championship going undefeated at 2-0 with victories over Long Beach State and Portland State.

Like they did on Friday against LBSU, the Broncos received contributions from numerous individuals again on Saturday, led by Roberts' double-double. The senior also hit an impressive 37.2 percent in the match and added three service aces and two blocks to her totals.

Freshman Jessica Donahue had another solid outing recording her second-straight contest with double-digit kills (10), while hitting a team-best 42.1 percent. She added a team-high six blocks giving her 16 on the weekend and a average of 2.0 per set during the two matches.

"Donahue was the best middle in the gym all week," Garus said. "She was offensively very consistent for us. She had a great blocking presence and I loved her energy, it was a big start for a talented young freshman."

Senior Morgan Hughes tallied a team-second-best 13 kills while hitting 25 percent. Hughes added three service aces, six digs and three blocks in the win.

Kiley Lewis chipped in with seven kills, three service aces, 10 digs and three blocks. Freshman setter Danielle Boss dished out a team-high 39 assists and had two kills, one ace, six digs and two blocks. Brigham led defensively with 20 digs to go with her four aces.

Boise State will be back in action next week when the Broncos travel to Pocatello, Idaho, for the Idaho State Invitational where they will face Milwaukee, UC Riverside and ISU.