Broncos Head to San Jose State and Nevada

WEEK 10

Match 22: Boise State at San Jose State | San Jose, Calif. (Spartan Gym) | Oct. 31 | 7 p.m. (Mountain)

Match 23: Boise State at Nevada | Reno, Nev. (Virginia Street Gym) | Nov. 2 | Noon p.m. (Mountain)

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THIS WEEK

● WHAT'S HAPPENING: Boise State (14-7, 6-4 MW) is on the road to start the second half of league play when the Broncos head to San Jose State and Nevada for MW contests.
● THURSDAY: Boise State opens the week at San Jose State (7-14, 2-8 MW) at 7 p.m. (MT) on Thursday. This is the re-match after Boise State won 3-1 earlier this season in Boise.
● SATURDAY: The Broncos will wrap up the week on Saturday at Reno where they will face the Nevada Wolf Pack (14-8, 4-6 MW) at noon (MT) in the Virginia Street Gym. The Wolf Pack defeated the Broncos 3-1 in Boise on Oct. 3.
● LIVE STREAM: The MW Network will carry most conference matches during the season ... links to the live stream can be found on the volleyball schedule page at BroncoSports.com.
● LIVE STATS: You can follow the live stats of each match this weekend by using the links on the volleyball schedule page at BroncoSports.com.

BOISE STATE STORYLINES

BOISE STATE WINS TWO ON THE ROAD
● Boise State won a pair of road contests last week defeating San Diego State in five and Fresno State in three.
● The Broncos struggled hitting the ball last week at 16.7 percent, but the defense kept them alive combining for 32 team blocks and 92 digs as they held SDSU and Fresno State to a combined 16.9 percent hitting.
● Jessica Donahue led the Broncos on the week with 21 kills, three block solos and 12 block assists for 30.0 points ... she had 10 blocks at Fresno State.
● Lauren Ohlinger recorded a team-high 23 kills to go with five service aces, 23 digs and three block assists for 29.5 points.

BOISE STATE'S RECORD
● Boise State enters week 10 of the season at 14-7 overall and 6-4 in MW play.
● Boise State's three nonconference losses came against teams ranked in the top-21 at the time of the match: at No. 9 BYU, vs. No. 16 Marquette in Provo, Utah, and at No. 21 Missouri.
● Boise State is 0-4 against top-25 teams this season adding a loss to Colorado State to the three nonconference ranked opponents.
●The Broncos are 4-3 at home.

WALLEY LEADS THE BRONCOS
● After 21 matches, Janell Walley has led the Broncos to its early success hitting a team-best 37.4 percent ... she has hit 40 percent or better in eight matches to date and above 30 percent in 12 of 19.
● She has tallied a team-high 247 kills, 15 service aces, four block solos and 70 block assists for a team-high 301.0 points on the year.
● Walley is third in the MW and 48th nationally for hitting percentage (.37.4), ranks fifth in MW for kills per set (3.34), 10th in blocks per set (1.00) and fourth in points per set (4.07).
● She had recorded 14 matches on the year in double-figure kills.
● Walley tied her career-high for kills against Middle Tennessee (Sept. 6) with 19 ... then broke it with 23 in the victory over Austin Peay (Sept. 13).
● She has eight double-doubles on the year for a team-high 16 in her career.

DONAHUE ANCHORING THE BLUE WALL
● Last year, Jessica Donahue led the Broncos with 135 blocks to rank 14th in a season all-time at Boise State.
● In 2019 she leads once again with 120 blocks entering the week to rank first in the MW and eighth nationally.
● On the year, she is first in the MW and fifth in NCAA for blocks per set at 1.56.
● In MW play she has a league-high 76 blocks and leads with 1.85 per set ... she has tallied at least six in eight of 10 MW matches and has a high of 12 versus Nevada (Oct. 3).
● Her 12 blocks against Nevada (Oct. 3) was a career-high and tied the school record (rally scoring era) for blocks in a match ... has four career matches with double-figure blocks, three with 10 and one with 12.
● Donahue has 14 contests this season with five or more blocks.

WISSINGER ON THE WALL
● Redshirt-freshman Alyssa Wissinger has been coming on strong in blocking the last couple weeks.
● Has led the team in blocks in three of the last four matches and six times on the year.
● She recorded a team and career-high 10 blocks in the loss to 14th-ranked CSU (Oct. 17).
● Wissinger has 80 blocks on the year to ranked second on the team and 47 in MW play.
● She is the second Bronco this year with 10 or more blocks in a match, Donahue had 12 against Nevada and 10 versus Fresno State.

OHLINGER SHINING IN DEBUT SEASON
● True freshman Lauren Ohlinger has the second-most kills on the team with 211 for a 2.67 per set average ... she is fourth on the team in digs with 197 (2.49 dps), fifth in blocks with 37 and second in points with 258.0.
● She had a career-high 19 kills in Boise State's win over Idaho State (Sept. 19), then broke that mark with 22 in the victory at New Mexico (Oct. 3).
● Ohlinger enters the week as one of four Broncos who has recorded a double-double on the season with four.

DEFENSIVELY SPEAKING
● The Broncos are ranked second nationally and first in the Mountain West for blocks per set at 3.04 and are fourth in MW in digs per set at 14.41.
● They rank second in the MW for opponents' hitting percentage at .186.
● The Broncos have held 10 of their last 15 opponents below 20 percent hitting going 11-4 in the that stretch.
● On the year they are 10-3 when holding opponents below 20 percent hitting, 11-4 when leading in blocks and 11-1 with more digs than the opposition.

HEAD COACH NOTES

HEAD COACH SHAWN GARUS
● Boise State's 3-0 win at Fresno State (Oct. 256) handed coach Garus his 300th career victory.
● Coach Garus entered his 11th season at Boise State and 19th overall just 14 wins shy of 300 career wins at 286
● Garus is 300-258 overall in his 19th year as a collegiate head coach.
● He is currently 192-139 at Boise State in his 11th season.

MATCH PREVIEWS

SAN JOSE STATE PREVIEW
● Boise State travels to San Jose State Thursday for a first serve at 7 p.m. (MT).
● The Spartans enter the week at 7-14 overall and 2-8 in MW play ... they are coming off a pair of road defeats at Colorado State (3-0) and Wyoming (3-0).
● SJSU has been hitting 18.1 percent (8th MW) and holding its opponents to 20 percent (6th MW).
● The Spartans were picked to placed fifth out of 11 teams in the MW coaches poll.
● Boise State is 18-18 all-time versus SJSU and 9-2 in MW matches.

NEVADA PREVIEW
● The Broncos will close the weekend on the road at Nevada with a Noon p.m. (MT) first serve in the Virginia Street Gym.
● The Wolf Pack enter the week at 14-8 overall and 4-6 MW ... they are coming off losses at Wyoming (3-0) and Colorado State (3-0).
● Nevada is hitting 20 percent (6th MW) on the year and holding opponents to 18.7 percent (4th MW).
● The Broncos are 32-28 all-time against Nevada and 12-2 in MW play.
● The Wolf Pack were predicted to place 11th in the 2019 MW race out of 11 teams.

WEEK 10

Match 22: Boise State at San Jose State | San Jose, Calif. (Spartan Gym) | Oct. 31 | 7 p.m. (Mountain)

Match 23: Boise State at Nevada | Reno, Nev. (Virginia Street Gym) | Nov. 2 | Noon p.m. (Mountain)

THIS WEEK

BOISE STATE STORYLINES

HEAD COACH NOTES

MATCH PREVIEWS

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jessica Donahue

Lauren Ohlinger

Janell Walley

Alyssa Wissinger