Broncos Rally Past Air Force

Thursday, September 28

USAF Academy, Colo.

6 p.m. MT

Boise State

7-6,3-0Mountain West

Air Force

10-4,2-1Mountain West

Boise St.

Air Force

9/28/2023 10:13:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Courtesy: Boise State Athletics

USAFA, Colo. – Boise State volleyball rallied from 2-1 down Thursday night at Air Force, winning the final two frames to defeat the Falcons in five hard-fought sets 22-25, 25-15, 23-25, 31-29, 15-8. The win was the fifth straight for the Blue and Orange as the Broncos improved to 7-6 overall and 3-0 in Mountain West play, while Air Force moved to 10-4 and 2-1 in league play.

Set one went back and forth with 12 ties and seven lead changes. Up 22-20, the Broncos could not hold off the Falcons as the home side won the frame following a 5-0 run down the stretch.

Boise State stormed back in set two, taking it by 10 points, 25-15, hitting .429 percent with only two attack errors on 28 attempts to go with five service aces.

The Broncos struggled to hit the ball in the third in another close set that had eight ties and four lead changes. For the second time in the match, the Blue and Orange led 22-20 and failed to close it out as the Falcons rallied to win it on a 5-1 run.

The fourth saw 11 ties and two lead changes. This time, Boise State rallied from 22-20 down to force the set into extra points. At one point, they thought they may have lost the set and match as the Falcons held a 29-27 lead, but a Boise State challenge reversed the point to make it 28 all. The Broncos would eventually win the fourth 31-29 on back-to-back points by Anabel Kotzakov. The first point was on a kill, followed by a solo block to hand the set to Boise State and force a fifth set.

In the fifth, the Broncos took an early lead, up 3-1, and never trailed. They would finish the set hitting .444 percent, with Paige Bartsch scoring four of the final six points on three kills and a block assist as Boise State took the set by seven points, 15-8.

Top Broncos

Bartsch finished with team highs for kills (24), digs (16) and points (29.5). She also added four service aces and three blocks.
Graduate transfer setter Noelani Helm led the Broncos with a double-double on 47 assists and 11 digs.
Annie Kaminski hit .346 percent for 13 kills, committing only four errors on 26 attempts, to go with three block assists and 14.5 points.
Kotzakov had nine kills, one service ace, 12 digs, a team and career-high five blocks and 13 points.

Quotes

"I am really happy with this win; road wins are tough to get in this conference," said head coach Shawn Garus. "The team showed some toughness during big points late in set four that were huge. Overall, I am really proud of how this group continues to grow."

Notable

Bartsch's 23 kills marked the seventh time this season with 20-plus kills and fifth-straight…her double-double was the fifth of the season…her four service aces give her eight matches with three or more...her 29.5 points ranks as the eight-most for a five-set match during the rally scoring era (2001-present) at Boise State.
Helm's double-double is her team-leading sixth of the season; the 47 assists are a season-high.
Breanna Mitchell had a team and career-high five service aces, tied for the fourth most at Boise State during the rally scoring era.
Kaminski's double-figure kills was her fourth of the season.
Boise State had 11 service aces in the match, marking the fourth time the Broncos have had 10 or more in a contest this fall; it tied for third-most this season and tied for fifth-most in a five-set match during the rally scoring era.
The Broncos combined for 12 team blocks, the second most this year, and was the fifth time this season with 10 or more.