Broncos End Regular Season with Third Straight Sweep

Saturday, November 22

Boise, Idaho

Noon

Boise State

19-10,11-7Mountain West

Air Force

15-15,7-11Mountain West

Air Force

Boise St.

11/22/2025 2:16:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Bilby led all players with 15 kills on Senior Day

BOISE, Idaho – On Senior Day, senior outside hitter Arianna Bilby had a match-high 15 kills while the Boise State defense registered 11 blocks as the Broncos swept Air Force (25-15, 25-19, 28-26) on Saturday in Bronco Gym.

The Broncos (19-10, 11-7 MW) earned their third win in a row, all via sweeps, to pick up their 11th Mountain West win of the year - their most conference victories in a season since 2016.

Bilby was the lone Bronco to reach double-figures in kills as she had a .353 hitting percentage. She also had seven digs, two aces and two blocks.

The Boise State defense had 11 blocks - its second straight match with double-digit blocks - and held Air Force (15-15, 7-11 MW) to a .168 hitting percentage in the match.

The Broncos hit .261 (43 kills, 13 errors, 115 attacks) as they have hit over .260 in each of the last three contests.

Junior middle blocker Layla Smith led all Broncos with seven blocks while redshirt freshman middle blocker Eliza Sharp and senior outside hitter Jazi Smith each had four.

In addition to the block being active, Boise State matched its season-high in aces with nine. Sophomore setter Lilli Etter and senior libero Bre Mitchell led the way with three apiece.

Boise State only trailed once in the first two sets as it convincingly opened up a 2-0 advantage in the match. The Broncos jumped out to a fast start in the first and finished the set with five aces while hitting .500 (15 kills, two errors, 26 attacks) as a team. In the second, the Broncos had five blocks - as L. Smith was the force in the middle with five stuffs - and held Air Force to a .122 hitting percentage.

The third set was a battle for both sides as the two opened up the set trading points until the Falcons took a four-point lead at 15-11. Boise State pulled within one at 17-16 on a solo block by L. Smith, but Air Force quickly pulled back out to a 19-16 advantage. The Broncos were later down 23-21, but a combo block by Sharp and J. Smith evened the set at 23-23 and forced Air Force to call a timeout.

The Broncos then had to fight off three set points from the Falcons as a left-handed kill by L. Smith gave Boise State the lead at 27-26. It was the Broncos' first advantage in the third set since 9-8.

Bilby ended the match with her fifth kill of the set.

Quotable
Head coach Shawn Garus
Overall thought…
"Proud of our team to rally around the emotion of the week and find the victory."

On playing Air Force for the first time all season long in the season finale…
"We only saw Air Force at the end of the season, which is bizarre. I watched tape on them all year long, but didn't have time for the team to focus on them (during that time). That's tough, in addition to all the other things going on (with Senior Day). With just one day, yesterday, to prepare for Air Force, we showed the team the best things (Air Force does) to make sure we get their attention and respect this team. And then today, we talked a little bit more about where do we have the advantage. We had the size advantage, we're going to serve well in our home gym, and certainly, we're going to play with great passion."

Top Broncos

Arianna Bilby had 15 kills – her third-highest total in a match this year – and hit .353 with seven digs, two blocks and two aces.
Lilli Etter and Bre Mitchell led the team with three aces each. Mitchell also had a match-high 16 digs while Etter had a team-best 22 assists.
Kailyn Jager recorded eight kills, six digs and a block.
Layla Smith paced the team with seven blocks. The junior also had six kills and two digs.

Notables

Boise State has registered 34 blocks in the last three matches, averaging 3.78 blocks per set over the stretch.
Bre Mitchell moved into fifth on Boise State's career digs list in the rally-scoring era and eighth all-time. The senior now has 1,236 career digs and a career-high 438 digs this season.
The nine aces matched Boise State's season-high and were the most by the Broncos in a three-set match this year. Boise State last had nine aces on Sept. 27 at New Mexico.
The nine aces were the most for the Broncos in a home match since Nov. 7, 2024 vs. Wyoming (11).
Saturday was the first and only meeting between Boise State and Air Force this season.

What's Next
No. 4 seed Boise State will face No. 5 seed Grand Canyon in the first round of the Mountain West Volleyball Championship on Wednesday, Nov. 26. First serve is set for 1 p.m. PT/2 p.m. MT. The winner will face No. 1 seed Utah State on Friday, Nov. 28 at 1 p.m. PT/2 p.m. MT.