Boise State Rallies Past Montana

Saturday, September 16

Boise, Idaho

1 p.m. MT

Boise State

4-6,0-0Mountain West

Montana

4-8,0-0Big Sky

Montana

Boise St.

9/16/2023 4:42:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Courtesy: Boise State Athletics

BOISE, Idaho – Boise State volleyball rallied from a set down to defeat Montana in four, 3-1 (19-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-21), Saturday afternoon to close out the Boise State Classic. The win was the second straight at the tournament as the Broncos finished at 2-1 to improve to 4-6 overall on the year.

Set one was close until late, with four lead changes and eight ties. The Grizzlies used a 5-0 run to turn a 20-19 lead into a 25-19 victory.

In the second frame, Boise State found itself in a five-point hole at 16-11. The Broncos regrouped and rallied with a 9-2 run – including five kills by Paige Bartsch – to take a 20-18 lead over the Grizzlies. The Blue and Orange maintained the lead after that and ended the set by outscoring Montana 14-4 to win the second 25-20.

Boise State never trailed in the third set. After Montana rallied to tie the score at 14-14, Boise State used a 5-1 run to regain the advantage, then extended it to a set-high six points on a few occasions late, eventually winning it 25-19.

The Broncos never trailed in the fourth frame, jumping out to a quick 7-2 lead. The Grizzlies did close within two a couple of times, but the Blue and Orange held them off for the four-point 25-21 win to clinch the match 3-1.

Top Broncos

Bartsch led the Broncos with 21 kills, three service aces, one block assist and 24.5 points; all but the blocks were team highs.
Breanna Mitchell turned in a team-best 21 digs from the libero position.
Annie Kaminski had 10 kills, one service ace, six blocks – one solo – and 14.5 points.
Noelani Helm distributed a team-high 40 assists as the Broncos hit .267 as a team.

Quotes

"I think that Montana played well in the second half of the first set, while we had some hesitation in our play," said head coach Shawn Garus. "We have to control what we can control on our own side of the net. I thought we had great leadership from Annie (Kaminski) and Paige (Bartsch), veterans out there on the floor. I give them a lot of credit for their leadership."
"It was amazing to get this win," said Reagan Casey. "The team worked really hard today and grinded through the last three sets. The slide worked well for us today, with Annie and myself popping out to the side and getting some good kills."

Notes

Boise State's Bartsch and Mitchell were named to the Boise State Classic All-Tournament Team.
Bartsch's 21 kills matched her total from yesterday and marks the fourth time this season she has had 20-plus kills and the 11th time in her career.
Bartsch finished the match with 24.5 points; it is the sixth time this year she has had 20-plus points.
Mitchell recorded her second contest in 2023 with 20-plus digs with 21…she has six matches with 15 or more digs and leads the Broncos with 154 total this season.
Kaminski's 10 kills give her three matches in double-digit kills this year as a middle blocker.
Helm's 40 assists are a season-high for the graduate transfer from Portland.
Reagan Casey had a Boise State career-high nine kills while hitting .615 percent to go with two block assists, finishing with 10 points.