Broncos Win Three at Cactus Classic

Friday, February 24

Tucson, Ariz.

10 a.m. MT

Boise State

Colorado Mesa

Emilia Guerra-Acuna serves the ball at the Boise State Pairs Classic (Oct. 14, 2022)

2/25/2023 6:20:00 PM | Women's Beach Volleyball

TUCSON, Ariz. – Boise State defeated two Pac-12 opponents en route to finishing 3-1 at the Cactus Classic in the opening weekend of the season.

The Broncos came up with some critical plays in the first dual of the season against Colorado Mesa, winning three of the dual's four three-set matches to clinch a 4-1 win over the Mavericks. In a closely contested matchup with Arizona State, Boise State got out to a quick 2-0 lead by winning at the No. 2 and No. 4 positions. The Sun Devils tied it up 2-2, but Sierra Land and Madison Nichols won in straight sets in the top spot to push the Broncos to victory.

Land and Nichols came up clutch again on the second day of the tournament, defeating Oregon's top pair of Chloe Brown and Zoe Almanza in straight sets to give Boise State the edge in another 3-2 victory. In the final match of the event, three Bronco pairs pushed No. 18 Arizona to three sets, but the Wildcats claimed the 5-0 victory.

Notables

- Boise State remains undefeated against both Colorado Mesa and Oregon all-time in program history. The Broncos hold a 9-0 all-time record against Oregon and a 4-0 all-time advantage on Colorado Mesa.
- By defeating Arizona State, the Broncos won the battle between teams receiving votes in the AVCA Collegiate Beach Preseason Poll. The Sun Devils received seven votes while the Broncos received one.
- Ava Anderson, Lily Patock and Aris Vetter each picked up their first collegiate win on the weekend.

Quotables

"Everybody got pushed pretty equally. We went 3-1 and all but one pair lost two matches or more. There were a lot of wins that weren't pretty and we just found a way to scrap to pull it off. That's what it's all about." – assistant coach Alex Venardos

"Madi and Sierra definitely took care of business. I thought they both held their own and played with fire at the No. 1 spot. They certainly were the most undersized top pair but played with high energy and had good ball control. They frustrated some teams and kept their foot on the gas for the most part." - Venardos

What's Next

The Broncos will head to Northridge, Calif. for the CSUN Tournament on March 4-5.

Weekend Results

Boise State def. Colorado Mesa (4-1)
1.) Sierra Land and Madison Nichols (BSU) def. Holly Schmidt and Macie Lachemann (CMU) 21-15, 22-20
2.) Kaylee Mejia and Lily Patock (BSU) def. Savannah Spitzer and Hahni Johnson (CMU) 21-19, 20-22, 15-12
3.) Rorianna Chartier and Ava Anderson (BSU) def. Jada Hall and Gracyn Spresser (CMU) 17-21, 21-11, 12-15
4.) Tye Wedhorn and Sabrina VanDeList def. Emilia Guerra-Acuña and Joey Benson (BSU) 14-21, 23-21, 15-8
5.) Sharli O'Neil and Aris Vetter (BSU) def. Taylor Scherff and Savannah Ott (CMU) 21-17, 19-21, 16-5

Boise State def. Arizona State (3-2)
1.) Sierra Land and Madison Nichols (BSU) def. Lexi Sweeney and Kylie Wickley (ASU) 22-20, 21-14
2.) Kaylee Mejia and Lily Patock (BSU) def. Anya Pemberton and Ivey Weber (ASU) 21-16, 19-21, 25-23
3.) Sarah Waters and Taryn Ames (ASU) def. Rorianna Chartier and Ava Anderson (BSU) 21-11, 21-16
4.) Emilia Guerra-Acuña and Joey Benson (BSU) def. Kate Fitzgerald and Rylie Kael (ASU) 21-17, 15-21, 15-6
5.) Carys Thomas and Adriana Nieves Papaleo (ASU) def. Sharli O'Neil and Aris Vetter (BSU) 21-16, 17-21, 15-8

Boise State def. Oregon (3-2)
1.) Sierra Land and Madison Nichols (BSU) def. Chloe Brown and Zoe Almanza (UO) 21-16, 21-11
2.) Bea Wetton and Ella Tyus (UO) def. Kaylee Mejia and Lily Patock (BSU) 21-13, 15-21, 15-13
3.) Rorianna Chartier and Ava Anderson (BSU) def. Abby Pelvin and Batia Rotshtein (UO) 14-21, 21-18, 15-8
4.) Ashley Schroeder and Natasha George (UO) def. Emilia Guerra-Acuña and Joey Benson (BSU) 21-16, 20-22, 15-10
5.) Sharli O'Neil and Aris Vetter (BSU) def. Lolo Folau and Valerie Peterson (UO) 21-17, 21-17

No. 18 Arizona def. Boise State (5-0)
1.) Alex Parkhurst and Sarah Blacker (ARIZ) def. Sierra Land and Madison Nichols (BSU) 21-17, 21-14
2.) Abby Russell and Hope Shannon (ARIZ) def. Kaylee Mejia and Lily Patock (BSU) 21-14, 21-17
3.) Alana Rennie and Grace Cook (ARIZ) def. Rorianna Chartier and Ava Anderson (BSU) 21-17, 21-13
4.) Kylee Fitzsimmons and Caroline White (ARIZ) def. Emilia Guerra-Acuña and Joey Benson (BSU) 19-21, 21-16, 15-12
5.) Annie Kost and Miranda Erro (ARIZ) def. Sharli O'Neil and Aris Vetter (BSU) 21-17, 16-21, 15-13