Broncos Knock Off New Mexico in Season Finale

Saturday, November 19

Albuquerque, N.M.

1 p.m. MT

Boise State

15-14,7-11Mountain West

New Mexico

17-11,8-10Mountain West

Boise St.

New Mexico

Volleyball versus Saint Mary’s, 8-27-22, Photo by Tyler McFarland

11/19/2022 5:04:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Four Broncos recorded double-digit kills, while three had double-doubles to lead Boise State.

By: Courtesy: Boise State Athletics

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Boise State volleyball knocked off the New Mexico Lobos 3-2 (15-25, 25-16, 25-22, 20-25, 15-12) on the road in Albuquerque, N.M., Saturday afternoon to clinch their eighth-consecutive winning season on the final day of the regular season. The win improved the Broncos to 15-14 overall and 7-11 in league play; New Mexico finishes at 17-11 and 8-10.

New Mexico used a 7-1 run to break open the first set early, stretching a 5-5 tied into a 13-6 advantage. The Lobos never trailed again as they claimed the 10-point 25-15 win.

Boise State regrouped for the second set, where the Broncos used an 8-1 run to take control. The Blue and Orange put the period away with Paige Bartsch's sixth kill of the set to win it by nine at 25-16.

The Broncos led nearly the entire way in a tight third set. After the Lobos tied the score at 17, Boise State recorded a 3-0 run to regain the advantage, then held off UNM for a 25-22 win to go up 2-1 in the match.

New Mexico forced the match into a fifth set when the Lobos rallied to claim the fourth. They used a 4-0 run that broke a 14-14 tie score, then outraced the Broncos for a 25-20 victory.

Tied at 12-12 in the decisive fifth set, Boise State closed it with three straight points. Following a UNM attack error, Jordan Miller and Bartsch went back-to-back with kills to clinch the match for the Blue and Orange.

Neither team hit the ball exceptionally well, with the Broncos outhitting the Lobos .184 percent for 67 kills to .175 percent for 48 kills. The Two teams combined for 27 blocks, with UNM holding a 16 to 11 advantage at the net.

Unfortunately, with the other results in the conference on Saturday, Boise State will not advance to next week's MW Championship at Fort Collins, Colo., as the 2022 campaign ends.

Quotables

"Today's match was a nice win to finish the season with, it all started with a spirited practice yesterday. I thought our seniors Allie Casillas and Lauren Ohlinger did a nice job competing and just working on getting a little bit better every day. Even with the state of the postseason already sealed, they still came into practice, worked hard, and set the tone on the court today."
"I thought Annie had one of the best matches of her career today, finishing with 15 kills and eight blocks; she really stepped up for the team."
"Lauren (Ohlinger)was very aggressive offensively today, which led to her scoring a lot more points. She also competed hard on defense."
"It was good to see 20 kills from Paige, it was another big-time performance from her. She is just a great competitor out there."

Top Broncos

Bartsch led the Broncos with 21 points – tied for the team-high – on a team-high 20 kills and two block assists. She added 14 digs to record a double-double.
Lauren Ohlinger added 18 kills behind .261 percent hitting; she also had two service aces and two block assists to tie for the team-high in points with 21.
Annie Kaminski hit a team-best .448 percent and tied her career-highs for points with 15 and blocks with eight.
Jordan Miller was the fourth Broncos to reach double-figure kills recording 10.
Allison Casillas notched a team-high 17 digs as the libero.
Ashley Hayden recorded a double-double on a team-high 52 assists to go with 14 digs.

Notables

Four Broncos finished the match with double-digit kills (Bartsch, Ohlinger, Kaminski and Miller), and three had double-doubles (Bartsch, Ohlinger and Hayden).
Bartsch's 20 kills mark the seventh time this season that she has tallied 20-plus kills in a contest; it is also her 24th in double-figure kills, both team highs.
Ohlinger recorded her ninth match of the year and 31st of her career with a double-double adding 16 digs to her 18 kills. She also recorded her 72nd match with double-digit kills.
Ohlinger finished her career with a Boise State rallying scoring era record for career service aces at 135.
Ohlinger ends her four years with 1,358 kills to finish third all-time at Boise State.
Casillas finished her career with 1,144 digs, good for 12th all-time in program history.

What's Next

The season has ended for the Broncos, who finished the season with their eighth-straight winning season.