Wednesday, November 24
Las Vegas, Nev.
2 p.m. MT
Boise State
22-10,10-8Mountain West
3
vs
0
San Jose State (First Round)
19-10,13-5Mountain West
1
2
3
F
Boise St.
25
25
25
3
San Jose St.
20
18
22
0
Team Stats
Boise
SJSU
Kills
41
38
Errors
13
19
Attempts
101
112
Hitting %
.277
.170
Points
55
48
Assists
35
36
Aces
5
3
Blocks
9
7
Game Leaders
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
3
Blocks
7
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
Setter
/ Women's Volleyball
L
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
Photo by: C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos
Creation Date:
Broncos sweep San Jose State to advance at MW Championship
11/24/2021 7:18:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Boise State will face Utah State at 2 p.m. (MT) on Thursday in the semifinal round.
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Boise State volleyball swept San Jose State 25-20, 25-18, 25-22 Wednesday afternoon in Cox Pavilion at UNLV to advance into the semifinal round at the 2021 Mountain West Conference Volleyball Championship.Â
"I was excited about the way the team came out really focused with great energy right from the start and was able to sustain that high level throughout the match," said head coach Shawn Garus. "I thought that our middle attack was great, both Alli (O'Harra) and Alyssa (Wissinger) scored at critical times for us. Paige Bartsch had a great match both blocking and hitting. The win sets up an opportunity in the semis against a very good Utah State team, which our girls respect a lot and we expect to battle with tomorrow."
Alli O'Harra led a host of Broncos who had solid outings against the Spartans on the day, by hitting a school record for a conference tournament three-set match at .833 percent with 10 kills and no errors on 12 attacks. She added five block assists to finish with 12.5 points.
"To be honest, I came out like the rest of the team ready to ball," said O'Harra. "I think that with the help of my teammates, they made it really easy for me to play well and succeed. Â Overall, Â I thought that I went in confident and ready to score. I'm really proud of myself for putting those balls away, but at the same time I couldn't have done it without my teammates. We passed really well and Dani (Boss) gave me great balls and great opportunities."
Paige Bartsch — the 2021 MW Freshman of the Year — followed by hitting .368 percent for nine kills with three service aces, three digs and team-high seven block assists to finish with a team-best 15.5 points.
Alyssa Wissinger hit .533 percent for nine kills to go with two block assists to tally 10 points. Lauren Ohlinger — A 2021 All-MW honoree — added eight kills, one service ace and six digs.
Danielle Boss — another All-MW Team member — recorded her 14th double-double of the season on 31 assists and 10 digs, both team highs. Allison Casillas matched Boss' dig total to tie for the team high on defense.Â
O'Harra was excited about how the team played today, "The focus out there was really intentional. Before every play between points, we would look at each other and really communicate about what our assignments were and how to play against their team. "Like I said before, my hitting percentage was all based on our passing and Dani giving me good balls and opportunities. I'm excited that we all executed really well and I'm stoked to see what we can do tomorrow."
After falling twice at the hands of the Spartans during the regular season, the Broncos gained a measure of revenge with their victory in Las Vegas on Wednesday. Boise State out hit San Jose State .277 percent to .170 percent.
The match saw a combined 28 ties and 15 lead changes. The opening set had 14 ties and seven lead changes with the largest lead of the set being two points until late. With the score tied at 18, Boise State finished on a 7-2 run — behind three O'Harra kills — to secure the 25-20 win.  Â
The second period had five ties and three lead changes. The last lead change came when the Broncos rallied from four down at 11-7 into a 14-12 lead following a 7-1 run. Bartsch led the run with three kills and two block assists to give Boise State the advantage for good as the Blue and Orange won by seven points, 25-18.Â
In the final period neither team hit the ball particularly well, Boise State hit .195 percent to SJSU's .140 percent. After San Jose State had rallied from 20-18 down to record the ninth tie score in the frame, Boise State put the set and match away with a 5-2 run down the stretch. Boise State's freshmen duo of Bartsch and Jordan Miller combined for three of the five points, one block assist by Miller and two kills by Bartsch, including the match clinching point. Â
With the win the Broncos improved to 22-10 overall and advanced them into Thursday's semifinal round against No. 2 seed Utah State. The Aggies won the lone encounter between the two programs this fall in five sets at Boise on Oct. 19.
Notables
Â
First match of the tournament ✅
— Boise State VB (@BroncoSportsVB) November 24, 2021
The Broncos sweep the Spartans to advance to the semifinals! 🤩#BleedBlue | #WhatsNext pic.twitter.com/kBdgfqZrIn
"I was excited about the way the team came out really focused with great energy right from the start and was able to sustain that high level throughout the match," said head coach Shawn Garus. "I thought that our middle attack was great, both Alli (O'Harra) and Alyssa (Wissinger) scored at critical times for us. Paige Bartsch had a great match both blocking and hitting. The win sets up an opportunity in the semis against a very good Utah State team, which our girls respect a lot and we expect to battle with tomorrow."
Alli O'Harra led a host of Broncos who had solid outings against the Spartans on the day, by hitting a school record for a conference tournament three-set match at .833 percent with 10 kills and no errors on 12 attacks. She added five block assists to finish with 12.5 points.
"To be honest, I came out like the rest of the team ready to ball," said O'Harra. "I think that with the help of my teammates, they made it really easy for me to play well and succeed. Â Overall, Â I thought that I went in confident and ready to score. I'm really proud of myself for putting those balls away, but at the same time I couldn't have done it without my teammates. We passed really well and Dani (Boss) gave me great balls and great opportunities."
Paige Bartsch — the 2021 MW Freshman of the Year — followed by hitting .368 percent for nine kills with three service aces, three digs and team-high seven block assists to finish with a team-best 15.5 points.
Alyssa Wissinger hit .533 percent for nine kills to go with two block assists to tally 10 points. Lauren Ohlinger — A 2021 All-MW honoree — added eight kills, one service ace and six digs.
Danielle Boss — another All-MW Team member — recorded her 14th double-double of the season on 31 assists and 10 digs, both team highs. Allison Casillas matched Boss' dig total to tie for the team high on defense.Â
O'Harra was excited about how the team played today, "The focus out there was really intentional. Before every play between points, we would look at each other and really communicate about what our assignments were and how to play against their team. "Like I said before, my hitting percentage was all based on our passing and Dani giving me good balls and opportunities. I'm excited that we all executed really well and I'm stoked to see what we can do tomorrow."
After falling twice at the hands of the Spartans during the regular season, the Broncos gained a measure of revenge with their victory in Las Vegas on Wednesday. Boise State out hit San Jose State .277 percent to .170 percent.
The match saw a combined 28 ties and 15 lead changes. The opening set had 14 ties and seven lead changes with the largest lead of the set being two points until late. With the score tied at 18, Boise State finished on a 7-2 run — behind three O'Harra kills — to secure the 25-20 win.  Â
The second period had five ties and three lead changes. The last lead change came when the Broncos rallied from four down at 11-7 into a 14-12 lead following a 7-1 run. Bartsch led the run with three kills and two block assists to give Boise State the advantage for good as the Blue and Orange won by seven points, 25-18.Â
In the final period neither team hit the ball particularly well, Boise State hit .195 percent to SJSU's .140 percent. After San Jose State had rallied from 20-18 down to record the ninth tie score in the frame, Boise State put the set and match away with a 5-2 run down the stretch. Boise State's freshmen duo of Bartsch and Jordan Miller combined for three of the five points, one block assist by Miller and two kills by Bartsch, including the match clinching point. Â
With the win the Broncos improved to 22-10 overall and advanced them into Thursday's semifinal round against No. 2 seed Utah State. The Aggies won the lone encounter between the two programs this fall in five sets at Boise on Oct. 19.
Notables
- The win over San Jose State was the first of the year in three tries and increased Boise State's series lead to 22-20 ... this was the first time that the two teams had met in a conference tournament dating back to the days when they were both in the Western Athletic Conference (2001-10).Â
- The win gives Boise State a 1-1 all-time record at the MW Championship following a three set loss to TCU in the 2011 edition, the last time the MW tournament was held.Â
- Boise State recorded nine team blocks in the match giving nation's blocking leader a new school rally scoring era record of 335.5, passing the 2019 team who had 328.
- The Broncos' five service aces extended their program rally scoring era record for aces in a season to 216.
- Paige Bartsch's seven block assists ties the school's conference tournament record for a three-set match ... it also ties her career high.Â
- Danielle Boss' 31 assists gives her 3,212 career assists, six in program history.
- Boss' double-double was the 14th of the season and 38th of her career, both team highs.
- Tomorrow's semifinal appearance marks the eighth time overall that Boise State will play in a conference tournament semifinal and the first since the 2009 WAC tournament where they lost in three to New Mexico State.
- O'Harra's .833 hitting percentage is a new MW Tournament record and is the second-best in program history, all matches with 12 or more kills.Â
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