Boise State’s Upset Bid of No. 14 Colorado State Comes Up Short in Five Sets

Thursday, October 17

Boise, Idaho

7:00 p.m. (MT)

Boise State

12-6,5-2MWC

Colorado State

17-1,6-1MWC

Colorado St.

Boise St.

Photo by: Fabiana Huffaker

Boise State’s Upset Bid of No. 14 Colorado State Comes Up Short in Five Sets

10/17/2019 11:16:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Courtesy: Boise State Athletics

BOISE, Idaho - Boise State volleyball took the 14th-ranked Colorado State Rams to the wire on Thursday in Boise before the Broncos upset bid came up short in five sets 21-25, 25-16, 25-17, 23-25, 15-8. Boise State's defense played a big role in the match as the Broncos collected a season-high-tying 18 blocks to go with 60 digs, many that kept volleys alive.

S5 (tied 2-2) | #14 CSU takes the set 15-8 and match 3-2 over the Broncos#BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/r6RSe0TACH
— Boise State VB (@BroncoSportsVB) October 18, 2019

"It was a great battle, I feel like we looked a little young and unprepared for the moment at times and at other times we looked really athletic and big, and physical at the net, that is the level of play we want to be at," said head coach Shawn Garus. "Hats off to Colorado State, a very consistent effort all night long, even when we were playing great, they just seemed to steady themselves and were tough to beat in the end. I thought our defense was a standout for us tonight between the blocking effort with Alyssa Wissinger, Jessica Donahue and Janell Walley, but then the defensive effort in the back court as well. It doesn't show up just in digs, but in the hustle plays by Allie Casillas, Jordi Holdaway and Walley who made spectacular plays at times that forced Colorado State to have to swing two, three, four times to get kills."

Boise State opened the match strong and used a 7-0 run to break a 5-5 tie and turned it into a 12-5 advantage. The Broncos extended the run to 11-4 to go up 16-9 powered by four block assists by Alyssa Wissinger. Boise State, who finished the period with eight kills and seven team blocks, went on to win the set 25-21.

Colorado State came back to take the second and third sets using runs in the middle of each to seize control.

Down 2-1 in the match, the Broncos regrouped to take the fourth. Up 21-16, Boise State watched the Rams fight back with a 7-1 run to take a 23-22 lead late. Janell Walley refused to let the night end and led the Broncos back. She scored two of Boise State's final three points in the set with a pair of kills to help her team win it 25-23 and force a decisive fifth set.

The fifth set started out slow for the Blue and Orange as Colorado State opened on a 7-1 run. Boise State battled back closing to within two at 9-7, but the 14th-ranked Rams surged to close it out with a 6-1 run.

Walley led the Broncos with a team-high nine kills to go with a season-high 16 digs and seven block assists, tying her high for the season.

Jessica Donahue was an impact up front recording five kills and seven blocks. Meanwhile, Wissinger finished with a team and career-high eight blocks in the contest.

Danielle Boss recorded her ninth double-double of the season on 24 assists and 11 digs to go with five kills, one service ace and three block assists. Freshman Allison Casillas tied Walley for the team-high in digs with 16.

Boise State is now 12-6 overall and 4-3 in Mountain West play, while Colorado State improved to 17-1 and 7-0. The Broncos will be back in action Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. when they host the second-place Wyoming Cowgirls.

OTHER NOTABLES

Boise State's 18 blocks tied the season high, 18 tied for third most in a match during the rally scoring era (2001-present).
Donahue's seven blocks tonight, means that she has not had fewer than six in a match in league play this season ... she also has eight straight matches with six or more and 11 overall on the year.
Boss' ninth double-double is a team high and was the 10th in her career.
Tonight's match featured two of the top defensive teams in the conference as Boise State held CSU to 19.1 percent hitting when they have been hitting 28.6 percent, a league best and ranked ninth nationally ... meanwhile, the Broncos have been hitting 24.5 percent on the year — second in the league — and was held to season-low 3.8 percent.
The match was a blockfest as the teams combined for 34.5 blocks, 18 by Boise State and 16.5 by Colorado State.
Boise State is now 1-17 all-time versus CSU and 1-15 in MW contests.