Boise State Cruises Past Fresno State on Senior Day

Saturday, November 23

Boise, Idaho

Noon MT

Boise State

18-10,10-6Mountain West

Fresno State

16-13,12-6Mountain West

Fresno St.

Boise St.

Anabel Kotzakov for up for the attack during the San Diego State match.

11/23/2024 2:48:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Courtesy: Boise State Athletics

BOISE, Idaho – Anabel Kotzakov led the Broncos with a double-double and a school-record seven service aces as Boise State cruised past Fresno State in three (25-17, 27-25, 25-11) on Senior Day in Bronco Gym.

The win gave the Blue and Orange an 18-10 overall record and a 10-8 Mountain West mark to close the regular season. Meanwhile, Fresno State moved to 16-13 and 12-6.

The Broncos opened the match on fire behind five Kotzakov service aces on seven serves to race out to a 7-0 lead. Boise State never trailed and led by as many as 10 on three occasions before taking it 25-17.

Set three was a battle with seven lead changes and 20 ties; the largest lead by either team was two. It took Boise State four set points before a Kotzakov kill and block assists by Kiersten Van Kirk and Reagan Casey clinched the win in extra points, 27-25.

Boise State wasted little time putting the match away in the third, starting with a 10-1 run to open the period. The Blue and Orange put it into cruise control and led 20-5 before settling for a 25-11 set victory to clinch the sweep over Fresno State.

TOP BRONCOS

Anabel Kotzakov led by hitting .500 percent with team-highs for kills with 14 and service aces with seven, in addition, to 11 digs and a career-high 21 points.
Kiersten Van Kirk had 12 kills while hitting .435 to go with three block assists and 13.5 points.
Paige Bartsch had nine kills with seven digs and three blocks for 11 points.

NOTABLES

Anabel Kotzakov had a career-high seven service aces and a school Rally Scoring Era record for aces in a three-set match.
Kotzakov's double-double was her second of the season and third of her career.
Boise State outhit Fresno State .333 percent to .188 percent and led 47 to 32 in kills.
The win ties the all-time series at 24-24.

QUOTABLES

Shawn Garus, head coach

"I think that getting off to a fast start and with a skill our team prides itself on serving, was really important today. I think Annabelle came out really aggressive and energized the gym and her teammates. I thought the environment put Fresno State on their heels."
"I felt like we were balanced offensively and could score on the right side, the outside, the middle; everybody seemed really dialed in. I didn't even want to take a time-out late because I felt like the team knew what they were doing. I loved their interaction in between the points."
"I think this was an effort with a very unified focus group; they knew what they needed to do today. And after a challenging week with lots of distractions to see them come together and play their best for the seniors was really important."