Broncos Defeat Nebraska for Third Place at Heineken Hawaii Invitational

Sunday, March 17

Honolulu, Hawaii

2:30 p.m. (MT)

Boise State

California (semifinal)

Broncos Defeat Nebraska for Third Place at Heineken Hawaii Invitational

3/17/2019 7:34:00 PM | Women's Beach Volleyball

By: Courtesy: Boise State Athletics

WAIKIKI, Hawaii - Boise State beach volleyball split a pair of matches on Sunday including a 4-1 victory over Nebraska to take third-place at the Heineken Hawaii Invitational on Queen's Beach in Waikiki, Hawaii. Boise State opened the day with a 5-0 semifinal loss to 11th-ranked Cal, then regrouped to defeat Nebraska in the third-place match.

The Broncos finished the tournament with a 2-3 record to improve to 6-5 overall on the year, four of their five loses this season have come at the hands of nationally-ranked teams. They will face Nebraska one more time on Monday afternoon on the campus of the University of Hawai'i in Monoa before returning home to Boise.

The senior tandem of Sabryn Roberts and Morgan Hughes led the Broncos during the two-day tournament going 3-2 at No. 2 pair, including a straight-set victory over Nebraska on Sunday. The team of Janell Walley and Kendra Bodine followed the senior duo going 2-3 at the event, both of their wins came in the two victories versus the Cornhuskers.

CALIFORNIA RECAP

Sunday began with the Heineken Hawaii Invitational semifinals where the Broncos took on No. 11 Cal for the second time at the tournament. The Golden Bears won all five contests versus Boise State during the match, all went two sets.

The No. 2 pair contest was tightly contest where Roberts and Hughes battled Iya Lindahl and Caroline Schafer falling 21-18, 21-18 as the Cal tandem avenged their loss to the Bronco duo on Saturday.

The No. 1 pair match was also a hard fought encounter before Walley and Bodine fell to Jordan Polo and Mima Mirkovic 21-15, 23-21.

SEMIFINAL MATCH #2
#11 California (10-2) def Boise State (5-5) 5-0
1. Jordan Polo/Mima Mirkovic (CAL) def. Janell Walley/Kendra Bodine (BSU) 21-15, 23-21
2. Iya Lindahl/Caroline Schafer (CAL) def. Sabryn Roberts/Morgan Hughes (BSU) 21-18, 21-18
3. Madi Micheletti/Grace Campbell (CAL) def. Jensen Allen/Kiley Lewis (BSU) 21-9, 21-10
4. Madison Dueck/Alexia Inman (CAL) def. Kylee Johnson/Ellie McDonald (BSU) 21-17, 21-11
5. Mia Merino/Abby Waldburger (CAL) def. Maya Watkins/Kenna Hanses (BSU) 21-18, 21-13
Order of finish: Doubles (3,4,5,2,1)

NEBRASKA RECAP

The second meeting of the weekend between the Broncos and Cornhuskers was for third place Sunday afternoon. The first encounter saw Boise State down Nebraska 3-2 in the opening match of the tournament Saturday morning. The second match saw Boise State mix up the No. 3 and 4 pair combinations, as well as three of the contests going to three sets, the Blue and Orange won all three helping the Broncos to a 4-1 victory.

The first victory came at No. 4 pair where a new combination on the weekend of Kylee Johnson and Kiley Lewis collected a 21-15, 21-19 win over NU's Anezka Szabo and Hayley Densberger. Johnson and Lewis are now 3-1 overall on the year.

Hughes and Roberts brought in the second win of the match when they dispatched Jazz Sweet and Kenzie Knuckles for the second-time in straight sets, this time by a 21-19, 21-17 tally. The senior combination is now 6-5 on the season split between No. 1 and 2 pairs.

The match was clinched at 3-0 when Walley and Bodine claimed a tough three-set victory at No. 1 pair over Nebraska's Lauren Stirvins and Nicklin Hames. It was the second time of the weekend that the Bronco duo had defeated the Cornhusker tandem. The first meeting was in two sets, today it went three before Walley and Bodine won 21-14, 16-21, 15-13. The win improved Boise State's No. 1 pair of Walley and Bodine to a team best 7-4 mark overall, though the record is split between courts one and two.

The match score went to 4-0 when Jensen Allen and Ellie McDonald teamed up to take down Anezka Szabo and Hayley Densberger in straight sets 21-15, 21-19 at No. 4 pair. Allen and McDonald are now 3-1 on the season.

The final match went to Nebraska, but not until after a hard fought three-set encounter between Boise State's No. 5 pair of Kenna Hanses and Maya Watkins and the Cornhuskers' Callie Schwarzenback and Megan Miller. Hanses and Watkins won the opening set 21-12, then battled hard but came up short in extra points during the final two sets falling 22-20 and 17-15.

THIRD-PLACE MATCH
Boise State (6-5) def. Nebraska (10-6) 4-1
1. Janell Walley/Kendra Bodine (BSU) def. Lauren Stirvins/Nicklin Hames (NEB) 21-14, 16-21, 15-13
2. Morgan Hughes/Sabryn Roberts (BSU) def. Jazz Sweet/Kenzie Knuckles (NEB) 21-19, 21-17
3. Kiley Lewis/Kylee Johnson (BSU) def. Madi Kubik/Mari Kurkova (NEB) 21-16, 18-21, 15-10
4. Jensen Allen/Ellie McDonald (BSU) def. Anezka Szabo/Hayley Densberger (NEB) 21-15, 21-19
5. Callie Schwarzenback/Megan Miller (NEB) def. Kenna Hanses/Maya Watkins (BSU) 12-21, 22-20, 17-15
Order of finish: Doubles (4,2,1,3,5)