Broncos Open NIVC With Weber State

NIVC FIRST & SECOND ROUNDS

Match 30: Boise State vs. Weber State | Dec. 5 | 4 p.m. (Mountain) | Laramie, Wyo. (UniWyo Sports Complex)

Match 31: Boise State vs. either Wyoming or Northwestern State (La.) | Dec. 6 | 6:30 p.m. (Mountain) | Laramie, Wyo. (UniWyo Sports Complex)

If Broncos win Thursday night they will play either Wyoming or Northwestern State
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THIS WEEK

● WHAT'S HAPPENING: Boise State (18-11, 10-8 MW) has advanced to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship which runs Dec. 5-17 at various campus sites across the country.
● This marks the third year in the last four that Boise State has reached the postseason, a stretch of success unprecedented in program history.
● OPPONENT: Boise State opens the tournament at Laramie, Wyo., against the Weber State Wildcats (24-8, 13-5 BSC) out of the Big Sky Conference on Thursday at 4 p.m. (Mountain).
● BRACKET: Boise State's four-team pod has the winner of the Boise State versus Weber State contest playing the winner of the Wyoming versus Northwestern State (La.) match at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, also in Laramie.
● VS. FIELD: The Broncos are 42-31 all-time against the three teams in the Laramie pod.

ABOUT THE NIVC
● The NIVC is volleyball's version of college basketball's NIT (National Invitation Tournament). This will be the fourth trip to the NIVC in program history for the Broncos, the last coming in 2017.
● The new format of the NIVC is a single elimination tournament played at campus sites all the way through to the championship match. The first two rounds will be played at eight locations with four-team brackets, the winners advancing to the quarterfinals.
● The first two rounds will be played Tuesday-
Thursday, Dec. 4-6.
● The last three rounds will feature two teams
at one site with the quarterfinals being played Dec. 9-12, the semifinals Dec. 13-15 and the championship on either Dec. 17, 18 or 19.

BOISE STATE'S NIVC HISTORY
● This is Boise State's fourth trip to the NIVC in program history where the Broncos are 7-3 all-time.
● The last time the Broncos advanced to the NIVC was in 2017 when they fell 3-0 in the first round to Pacific at Stockton, Calif.
● The current format of the NIVC is different from the earlier versions of the tournament when all teams traveled to one site for the entire tournament.
● The 1989 Broncos advanced to the final at Birmingham, Ala., by winning its group going 3-0 with wins over Arkansas State (3-2), Georgia (3-2) and Murray State (3-1). In the semifinals Boise State defeated William & Mary (3-2) to advance to the championship match where it fell to Wisconsin in four.
● In 1990 at Knoxville, Tenn., Boise State dropped its first match of group play 3-1 to Georgia, then rallied to win three straight over Northern Iowa (3-2), Akron (3-0) and Arkansas State (3-0). The Broncos tied Georgia for the group lead, but the Bulldogs advanced to the semifinals based on its win over the Blue and Orange.

THE OPPONENTS

WEBER STATE PREVIEW
● Boise State opens the tournament against Weber State on Thursday.
● The Broncos are 29-16 all-time versus Weber State ... they were conference rivals in the old MWAC and Big Sky Conferences from 1982-96 ... the last time they met was at the 2017 Sun Devil Classic in Tempe, Ariz., where Boise State won 3-1.
● The Wildcats enter the NIVC at 24-8 overall and finished conference play at 11-5, good for second.
● Last week at the Big Sky Tournament they reached the championship with wins over Southern Utah (3-0) and Northern Arizona (3-0) before falling to Northern Colorado (3-2) in the title contest.
● Weber State has been hitting 24.2 percent (1st BSC) on the year and holding its opponents to 16.7 percent (1st BSC/33rd NCAA).
● This match could be a blockfest as both teams are ranked high nationally in both blocking categories ... WSU tallied 310 blocks (2nd BSC/12 NCAA) and averaged 2.61 blocks per set (2nd BSC/28th NCAA) during the regular season ... Boise State had 314 blocks (1st MW/8th NCAA) and averaged 2.93 (2nd MW/6th NCAA).

WYOMING PREVIEW
● If the Broncos win Thursday they would play either Wyoming or Northwestern State in the round of 16 on Friday at 6:30 p.m. (MT).
● Boise State is 12-15 all-time versus Wyoming and 10-10 in Mountain West matches ... the Cowgirls swept both meetings this year in MW play.
● Wyoming enters the NIVC at 21-8 overall and 16-2 in league play, second place ... last time out two weeks ago the Cowgirls won a pair of road matches at Nevada (3-0) and at San Jose State (3-2) ... they have won seven straight.
● The Cowgirls are hitting at 23.8 percent (2nd MW), while holding opponents to 18.3 percent (2nd MW).

NORTHWESTERN STATE PREVIEW
● If the Broncos win Thursday they would play either Wyoming or Northwestern State in the round of 16 on Friday at 6:30 p.m. (MT).
● Boise State is 1-0 all-time versus Northwestern State ... the lone meeting to date was on Aug. 27, 2016 at the TCU Invitational in Fort Worth, Texas, where the Broncos won 3-0.
● Northwestern State enters the NIVC at 20-12 overall and 11-5 in Southland Conference play, third place ... the Lady Demons went 1-1 at the conference tournament (Nov. 22-23) defeating Houston Baptist (3-1) before falling to Sam Houston State (3-1).
● NSU is hitting 21.2 percent (4th SC), while holding opponents to 19.1 percent (3rd SC).

BRONCO KEY STORYLINES

OHLINGER MW FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
● Boise State's Lauren Ohlinger was named the Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year.
● Ohlinger led the Broncos in kills with 317; was second in service aces with 29; fourth in digs with 251; fifth in blocks and first in points with 382. She ranked eighth in the MW on the year for points per set at 3.57 and 10th in kills per set at 2.96.
● The freshman outside hitter finished the season leading the team in points during each of the final nine matches and in kills in the last 10 ... recorded double-digit kills a team-high 16 times — 12 in conference play — and had eight double-doubles on the season.

All-MOUNTAIN WEST HONOREES
● Boise State's Janell Walley and Jessica Donahue were named to the All-Mountain West Team as selected by the league's coaches ... Danielle Boss earned honorable-mention recognition.
● Janell Walley is a four-year starter at outside hitter and the leader on the 2019 team ... battled through injuries to finished regular season with 266 kills while hitting a team-high 35.6 percent ... added 24 service aces, 282 digs and 81 blocks to finish with 332.5 points ... on the year, Walley was ranked fourth in the MW and 64th nationally for hitting percentage.
● Jessica Donahue first All-MW accolade after being named the conference's freshman of the year in 2018 ... anchored Boise State's blue wall totaling 159 blocks — 10 short of the school record — led the MW and ranked eighth nationally at the time ... ranked first in the MW and fifth nationally for blocks per set at 1.51 — fourth all-time for a season at Boise State ... second-straight year that Donahue led the team in blocks and now has 294 in her career to rank 14th in program history ... added 200 kills while hitting 32.8 percent to go with six service aces, 14 solo blocks and 145 block assists to finished the year with 292.5 points.
● Danielle Boss received honorable-mention All-MW recognition from her setter position ... finished regular season with 1,070 assists — 14th in program history for assists in a season — to average 10.0 per set, which ranked third in the MW and 73rd nationally ... led the team in service aces with 32 to average 0.30 per set, 10th in the conference ... ranked third on the team for digs with 274 and fourth for blocks with 80 ... recorded 40 or more assists in 13 matches this year.

BOISE STATE'S RECORD
● Boise State closed the regular season at 18-11 overall and 10-8 (fourth place) in MW play.
● The Broncos' 18 victories clinched a winning season for the program.
● This marks the sixth-straight winning season for the team and the ninth under head coach Shawn Garus in 11 years.

BRONCOS VERSUS TOP-25
● 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 0-5 against top-25 teams this season adding two MW losses to Colorado State to the three ranked nonconference opponents.

THE BLUE WALL, NATIONALLY RANKED IN BLOCKS
● The Broncos are ranked sixth nationally and second in the Mountain West for blocks per set at 2.93
● They are first in league and eighth nationally for total blocks with 314.0, ranked eighth for a season in program history.

OTHER KEY MW STAT RANKINGS
● Boise State is fifth in MW for digs per set at 14.09.
● They rank fourth in the MW for opponents' hitting percentage at .192.
● The Broncos have held 16 opponents below 20 percent hitting on the year going 13-3 in those contests.
● On the year they are 14-6 when leading in blocks and 14-2 with more digs than the opposition.

WALLEY LEADS THE BRONCOS
● After 29 matches, Janell Walley has played a big part in the Broncos success this season hitting a team-best 35.6 percent ... she hit 40 percent or better in nine matches to date and above 30 percent in 14.
● She has tallied 266 kills, 24 service aces, four block solos and 77 block assists for 332.5 points on the year.
● Walley is fourth in the MW and 67th nationally for hitting percentage (.356).
● She has recorded 15 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.
● An injury had restricted her to playing only on the back row during eight of the 18 conference matches, basically the second half of league play.

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 led once again with 159 blocks at the end of the regular season to rank first in the MW and ninth nationally.
● On the year, she is first in the MW and fifth in NCAA for blocks per set at 1.51.
● In MW play, she has a league-high 115 blocks and leads in blocks per set at 1.67.
● She tallied at least six blocks in 11 of 18 MW matches and had 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 five career matches with double-figure blocks, four with 10 and one with 12.
● Donahue has 19 contests this season with five or more blocks.
● She is ranked fifth in the MW on the year for hitting percentage at .328 ... and seventh in league play at 32.3 percent.

DONAHUE EYEING BLOCK RECORD
● Sophomore Jessica Donahue is having an outstanding season blocking and is eyeing a potential school record for blocks in a season with 159 entering the postseason, 10 short of tying the record of 169.

OHLINGER SHINING IN DEBUT SEASON
● True freshman Lauren Ohlinger leads the team in kills with 317 for a 2.96 per set average ... she is fourth on the team in digs with 251 (2.35 dps), fifth in blocks with 64 and first in points with 382.0.
● Ohlinger has led the team in points 11 times and in kills on 12 occasions, including eight straight weeks to end the regular season.
● The freshman has recorded double-digit kills in 15 contests to date, including 12 in conference play.
● She had a career-high 22 kills in the victory at New Mexico (Oct. 3) ... had 21 kills in the home win over UNM (Nov. 9).
● Ohlinger is one of the four Broncos who has recorded a double-double on the season with eight to her name in 2019.

BOSS AT SETTER
● On the year she has 1,070 assists on the year to rank 14th all-time in program history for a single season ... she is the 16th Bronco in history to reach the 1,000 assists in a season milestone.
● Boss is third in the MW on the year for assists per set at 10.01 ... in league play she has 672 assists to rank third and averages 9.74 per set to rank fourth.
● On the year, the sophomore has 274 digs to rank third on the team ... she averages 2.56 per set, third on team.
● She has 12 matches this season with 40-plus assists.
● The sophomore setter has a team-high 13 double-doubles on the year, all by assists and digs.

NIVC FIRST & SECOND ROUNDS

Match 30: Boise State vs. Weber State | Dec. 5 | 4 p.m. (Mountain) | Laramie, Wyo. (UniWyo Sports Complex)

Match 31: Boise State vs. either Wyoming or Northwestern State (La.) | Dec. 6 | 6:30 p.m. (Mountain) | Laramie, Wyo. (UniWyo Sports Complex)

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THIS WEEK

THE OPPONENTS

BRONCO KEY STORYLINES

Players Mentioned

Danielle Boss

Jessica Donahue

Lauren Ohlinger

Janell Walley

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