Stout Defense Helps Power Sweep of Nevada

Thursday, November 20

Boise, Idaho

6 p.m.

Boise State

18-10,10-7Mountain West

Nevada

8-19,4-13Mountain West

Nevada

Boise St.

11/20/2025 8:05:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Boise State had 14 blocks, held the Wolf Pack to a negative hitting percentage

BOISE, Idaho – Boise State tallied 14 blocks and held Nevada to a negative hitting percentage for the match as the Broncos swept the Wolf Pack (25-12, 25-11, 25-17) on Thursday in Bronco Gym.

The Broncos (18-10, 10-7 MW) clinched a spot in the Mountain West Championship next week in Las Vegas after holding Nevada (8-19, 4-13 MW) to -.082 hitting percentage over the three sets. It was the first time the Broncos held an opponent to a hitting percentage below zero since Nov. 4, 2021 vs. New Mexico (-.038).

The defensive effort by Boise State was highlighted by the 14 team blocks, which went down as tied for the fourth-most ever in a three-set match in the program's rally-scoring era.

Boise State also never trailed at any point in the match.

Middle blocker Layla Smith led the way for the Broncos with 10 blocks, which were her most in a match since setting her season-high of 11 on Sept. 20 vs. South Dakota State.

Smith paired up with outsider hitter Sydney Dreves for most of the blocks as Dreves had a season-high nine stuffs of her own.

While the defense was the standout side for Boise State, it hit .296 in the match on the offensive side, which was its third-best hitting percentage in a match this year.

Outside hitter Arianna Bilby paced the Broncos with 13 kills on a .387 hitting percentage. Middle blocker Eliza Sharp followed her with eight kills on 13 clean swings for a .615 clip.

Also keeping the Nevada offense out of system was Boise State's serve, which ended the night with six aces - their most in a three-set match since earlier this season on Sept. 12 against San Francisco (8).

Boise State hit over .300 in the first two sets and had a combined 75% sideout clip to never let Nevada have control early on. The Wolf Pack had 20 attack errors against 12 kills in sets one and two.

Smith and Dreves, meanwhile, helped the Broncos control the second as the two had four blocks apiece in the set.

In the third, Boise State had seven blocks, with Smith and Dreves each turning in four apiece once again. Offensively, Bilby had six kills in the final set.

Quotable
Head coach Shawn Garus
On the defensive effort…
"I love how our team executed the scouting to a 'T'. Our blocking was awesome, our serving pinpointed the right passers, and I'm just really proud of how they were able to take the game plan on a week that has a lot of emotion, a lot of distractions, but go out there and play with great focus and execution."

On who stood out…
"Sydney (Dreves) was amazing blocking on the right side. She was right next to Layla (Smith), and the combination of those two was giving Nevada fits."

Top Broncos

Arianna Bilby had 13 kills (one error, 31 attacks), seven digs, a block and an ace.
Eliza Sharp finished with eight kills on 13 errorless attacks as well as four blocks.
Layla Smith turned in her second double-digit blocking effort this season as she had a team-best 10 blocks.
Sydney Dreves registered six kills and nine blocks.
Kailyn Jager recorded a team-best 11 digs to go with her four kills and three blocks.
Elle Cotton had a team-best 16 assists, two digs and one ace.

Notables

Four Broncos had an ace, led by Jager's three.
Bre Mitchell finished with 10 digs, which was her sixth-straight 10+ block effort. Mitchell now has 1,220 career digs, which are the ninth-most in program history. She needs three more digs to match Kersti Whitney for eighth on the all-time list.
The 14 team blocks were tied for the fourth-most in a three-set match in Boise State's rally-scoring era and most in a three-set match since Nov. 18, 2021 vs. Wyoming (15).
Smith has a team-leading 149 blocks this year, which are the third-most by a Bronco in a season in the rally-scoring era. She needs 20 more blocks to tie the program's rally-scoring record for most blocks in a season.

What's Next
Boise State will face Air Force in its final home match of the 2025 season on Saturday. First serve in Bronco Gym is set for noon, and any ticket holder for the Boise State vs. Colorado State football game can get a free ticket to the volleyball match by showing their football ticket for that evening's matchup.