Boise State travels to UNLV and San Diego State

MOUNTAIN WEST PLAY, WEEK SIX

Thursday, Oct. 28

7:30 p.m. | Boise State at UNLV | Live Scoring | MW Network

Saturday, Oct. 30

7 p.m. | Boise State at San Diego State State | Live Scoring | MW Network

THIS WEEK IN BRONCO VOLLEYBALL
WHAT'S HAPPENING: Boise State (15-8, 4-6 MW) is on the road this week as the Broncos travel to UNLV (15-6, 6-4 MW) for a 7:30 p.m. (Mountain) first serve on Thursday, followed by a 7 p.m. (MT) start at San Diego State (6-16, 3-7 MW) on Saturday.

SCOUTING BOISE STATE: The Broncos enter the weekend coming off an 0-3 mark last week falling at home to Utah State in five on Oct. 19, followed by two road defeats at Fresno State 3-1 and Sacramento State 3-0.

Through 23 matches, Boise State is led by Lauren Ohlinger who has tallied league-highs for kills (310) and points (373.5), and ranks second in service aces (40). The junior outside hitter is ranked ninth nationally for total service aces, 26th for service aces per set (.47) and 32nd in total points.

Makayla Hansen follows with 165 kills and 75 blocks. Kayly Pau is third with 136 kills and 40 blocks, while Alyssa Wissinger is fourth with 124 kills and 86 blocks (2nd MW).

As a team, Boise State hits .258 percent (2nd MW / 39th NCAA) and holds opponents to .201 percent (5th MW). The Broncos average 12.63 kills per set (7th MW), 2.63 blocks (1st MW / 20th NCAA), 1.93 service aces (2nd MW / 16th NCAA) and 12.76 digs (7th MW). Boise State leads the MW and is fourth nationally for total blocks (226.0) and is third in NCAA for total service aces (166).

SCOUTING UNLV: Like the Broncos, the Rebels have struggled as of late losing three of their last four contests. They enter the week at 15-6 overall and 6-4 in conference play. UNLV is coming off a split last week beating Wyoming 3-2 in Las Vegas before falling 3-0 at Colorado State. Mariena Hayden leads the Rebels and MW in kills per set at 4.09, while Kate Brennan is second in the league for hitting percentage at .396. As a team, UNLV hits .259 percent (1st MW) while their opponents have hit .190 (2nd MW). The Rebels are the defending conference champions and were picked to repeat in 2021.

THE UNLV SERIES: The all-time series is tight with Boise State leading it 13-10. The Broncos won the first meeting this year 3-2 in Boise (Oct. 16). The Rebels won both meetings last year (spring 2021) at Las Vegas. Boise State leads the series in contests played in Las Vegas by a 7-5 margin. In addition, the Broncos also lead the MW series 11-6 which dates back to 2011 when Boise State joined the league.

THE LAST TIME THE BRONCOS AND REBELS MET: BOISE, Idaho (Oct. 16) - Lauren Ohlinger and Jessica Donahue combined for 26 of Boise State's 54 kills on the day to lead the Broncos to a five-set victory over UNLV in Bronco Gym. The match was close throughout as the two teams traded sets with the Blue and Orange winning the first, third and fifth periods. Ohlinger finished the contest with her seventh double-double of the season on a team-high 14 kills to go with 14 digs.
Jessica Donahue was not far behind hitting a team-high .600 percent on 12 kills and no errors on 20 attacks. UNLV was led by Mariena Hayden with 23 kills and 10 digs, followed by Milica Tasic with 12 kills. Both teams finished the contest hitting .248 percent.

SCOUTING SAN DIEGO STATE: The Aztecs are 6-16 overall and 3-7 in MW play. They are coming off three-straight defeats since winning at Boise State on Oct. 14. Last week they lost 3-2 at home against Colorado State, then fell 3-0 at Wyoming. Victoria O'Sullivan leads the Aztecs with 258 kills to rank fifth in the MW for kills per set at 3.53. As a team, SDSU hits .219 percent (7th MW) while their opponents have hit .244 (10th MW). The Aztecs were picked to place sixth in the 2021 Mountain West race.

THE SAN DIEGO STATE SERIES: This will be the second meeting of the year between the Broncos and Aztecs with SDSU defeating the Broncos 3-0 the first time around in Boise (Oct. 14). The all-time series is now tied at 10, meanwhile Boise State leads the MW series 10-9. The series is tied at 4-4 in contests played in San Diego.

THE LAST TIME VERSUS SAN DIEGO STATE: BOISE, Idaho (Oct. 14) - Boise State had no answer for San Diego State's Victoria O'Sullivan who recorded 22 kills to lead the Aztecs to a road victory. Lauren Ohlinger led the Broncos with a team-high eight kills on a night that saw Boise State hit a solid .337 percent as a team; unfortunately, San Diego State hit .400 percent. Jessica Donahue followed Ohlinger by hitting .455 percent but tallied only six kills on 11 attacks. Heipua Tautua'a followed O'Sullivan with 11 kills for SDSU.

FOLLOW THE ACTION: If you cannot attend, the best way to follow the action is by going to the volleyball schedule on BroncoSports.com and clicking on the appropriate "Live Scoring" and/or "Live Stream" links for the particular match you want to follow. For home and Mountain West contests the live stream is free of charge courtesy of the Mountain West Network.

NOTES: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT BRONCO VOLLEYBALL
DONAHUE TIES RALLY SCORING ERA BLOCKS RECORD: Jessica Donahue has tied Sadie Maughan's (2007-10) school record for career blocks during the rally scoring era (RSE) with 420. She recorded two at Fresno State (Oct. 21) to tie the mark.

WELCOME TO THE BLOCK PARTY: The Broncos' frontline has recorded double-digit team blocks in 14 of 23 contests to date with a high of 18 against San Jose State (Sept. 30), tied for 12th all-time and tied for third during the rally scoring era (RSE).

THE BLUE WALL NATIONALLY RANKED: The Broncos lead the Mountain West and are ranked fourth nationally in total blocks with 226. The Blue Wall also leads the MW and is 20th in the NCAA for blocks per set at 2.63.

TEAM DEPTH / CHANGING LINEUP: Boise State has one of its strongest teams in program history and has had the luxury to start 14 of its 17 student-athletes at least once this season. Through 23 contests the Broncos have featured nine different lineups.

BOSS AT SETTER: Senior Danielle Boss returned at setter where she has started the previous three campaigns. She entered the season ranked ninth all-time and fifth in the rally scoring era (RSE) for career assists at Boise State with 2,151. She has opened the season with 755 to move into seventh place overall and fourth in RSE with 2,906.

WISSINGER LEADS MW FOR BLOCKS: Alyssa Wissinger is ranked first in the Mountain West for blocks per set at 1.19 and second for total blocks with 86.

BOSS NATIONALLY RANKED FOR ASSISTS: Dani Boss is ranked 42nd nationally for assists per set at 10.34, that is second in the MW.

OHLINGER NATIONALLY RANKED: Lauren Ohlinger is ranked ninth in the NCAA for total service aces (40), 26th nationally for service aces per set (0.47), 46th for total kills (310) and 32nd for total points (373.5).

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Danielle Boss

Jessica Donahue

Makayla Hansen

Lauren Ohlinger

Kayly Pau

Alyssa Wissinger