Broncos Fall to Fresno State in First Round of MW Championship

Wednesday, November 22

Las Vegas, Nev.

2 p.m. MT

Boise State

14-14,10-8

Fresno State

16-13,10-8

Fresno St.

Boise St.

Photo by: NCAA Photos

Broncos Fall to Fresno State in First Round of MW Championship

11/22/2023 5:06:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Courtesy: Boise State Athletics

LAS VEGAS – Boise State's volleyball fell in three (25-14, 26-24, 25-23) to Fresno State in the first round of the Mountain West Championship in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

Boise State opened the match slowly, falling to Fresno State by 11 at 25-14. Up by one at 13-12, Fresno State broke the set open by out-scoring the Broncos 12-2 down the stretch to close it out.

The second set saw the Broncos take an 18-14 lead, only to fall victim to a Bulldogs rally that saw Fresno State take the lead at 23-22, then win it in extra points 26-24.

The third frame was similar to the first, with Fresno State rallying past the Broncos late to earn the win 25-23 and clinch the match.

Boise State struggled to attack as Fresno State outhit the Broncos .339 to .148 for a 44 to 36 edge in kills.

Quotables

We struggled passing, which bled into all phases of our offense," said head coach Shawn Garus. "We had leads and chances to win sets two and three but seemed to lose all the long rallies and big points. It's sad to see our seniors' careers come to an end."

Top Broncos

Paige Bartsch led Boise State with team highs for kills with 13, service aces with three and points with 16.5.
Anabel Kotzakov had nine kills, one ace and 10 points.
Bella McGirr led along the back line with a team-high 13 digs.

Notables

Bartsch set two school records in the match; the first was the all-time mark for kills in a season with 530, and the second was the rally-scoring era record for service aces in a season with 52.
Bartsch moved into fourth place in the MW for points in a season with 616.5, extending her school record in the process.
Bartsch also moved into fifth place for career points at Boise State with 1,300.