Boise State Athletics
Wednesday, November 26
Las Vegas, Nev.
1 p.m. PT/2 p.m. MT
Boise State
20-10,11-7Mountain West
3
vs
0
Grand Canyon
17-13,9-9Mountain West
1
2
3
F
Grand Canyon
27
22
27
0
Boise St.
29
25
29
3
Broncos Sweep Their Way to Semifinals
11/26/2025 4:38:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Boise State had seven aces in the first round win against GCU
LAS VEGAS – A balanced offensive attack helped Boise State fight off Grand Canyon in a tightly-contested first round match in the 2025 Mountain West Volleyball Championship as the Broncos swept the Lopes (29-27, 25-22, 29-27) in the Pavilion on Wednesday.
Powered by six different players tallying six or more kills, the Broncos (20-10, 11-7 MW) advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament for the second year in a row. Boise State will face the No. 1 seed Utah State on Friday.
Arianna Bilby and Eliza Sharp paced the Broncos with 10 kills apiece.Â
But the other part of the story for Boise State in their fourth straight sweep was its serve. The Broncos had seven aces, including a season high-tying three from Bre Mitchell. Five different Broncos had at least one ace.
With the serves being tough for GCU (17-13, 9-9 MW) to handle, Boise State also had 10 blocks. Layla Smith led the way with eight stuffs.
The first set required the Broncos to dig themselves out of a 22-18 hole. Smith had two blocks late, including the Broncos' first of the match when she and Kailyn Jager paired up to make it 26-26. The two sides traded kills, but a kill by Smith was followed up by a combo block from her and Bilby to give the Broncos a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Broncos hit .349 in the first set, fueled by Smith turning in five kills on six clean swings. Bilby had four kills in the opener.
In the second set, both sides hit over .288, but Boise State's three aces and five Broncos with multiple kills helped create the 25-22 set win. The Broncos got out to a fast start by taking a 5-0 lead and went on to hold a late three-point lead at 20-17. The Lopes rallied back to tie at 21-21, but coming out of a Boise State timeout, Smith and Bilby had kills to give the Broncos a two-point lead. Grand Canyon then called its final timeout, but it could not slow down Boise State as another kill by Smith followed later by a kill from Sydney Dreves ended the set.
Smith had five kills in the second while Bilby (four), Dreves (three), Jager (three) and Sharp (three) all had multiple kills in the set.
The third set featured 16 ties, 10 lead changes and five match points - including four for the Broncos. Boise State led 17-15, but Grand Canyon went on a 6-0 run to put the Broncos on the ropes. Coming out of its second timeout, Boise State responded, though, with a 5-0 run of its own to take a 22-21 lead. An ace by Mitchell evened it at 21-21 before a kill by Sharp gave the Broncos the one-point advantage. Service errors prevented the Broncos from pulling away, but with the match at 27-27, Smith's kill gave the Broncos their fourth match point of the set, and then a Grand Canyon attack error ended it.
Top Broncos
The No. 4 seeded Broncos face No. 1 seed Utah State on Friday at 1 p.m. PT/2 p.m. MT. The match can be watched on the MW Network.
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Powered by six different players tallying six or more kills, the Broncos (20-10, 11-7 MW) advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament for the second year in a row. Boise State will face the No. 1 seed Utah State on Friday.
Arianna Bilby and Eliza Sharp paced the Broncos with 10 kills apiece.Â
But the other part of the story for Boise State in their fourth straight sweep was its serve. The Broncos had seven aces, including a season high-tying three from Bre Mitchell. Five different Broncos had at least one ace.
With the serves being tough for GCU (17-13, 9-9 MW) to handle, Boise State also had 10 blocks. Layla Smith led the way with eight stuffs.
The first set required the Broncos to dig themselves out of a 22-18 hole. Smith had two blocks late, including the Broncos' first of the match when she and Kailyn Jager paired up to make it 26-26. The two sides traded kills, but a kill by Smith was followed up by a combo block from her and Bilby to give the Broncos a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Broncos hit .349 in the first set, fueled by Smith turning in five kills on six clean swings. Bilby had four kills in the opener.
In the second set, both sides hit over .288, but Boise State's three aces and five Broncos with multiple kills helped create the 25-22 set win. The Broncos got out to a fast start by taking a 5-0 lead and went on to hold a late three-point lead at 20-17. The Lopes rallied back to tie at 21-21, but coming out of a Boise State timeout, Smith and Bilby had kills to give the Broncos a two-point lead. Grand Canyon then called its final timeout, but it could not slow down Boise State as another kill by Smith followed later by a kill from Sydney Dreves ended the set.
Smith had five kills in the second while Bilby (four), Dreves (three), Jager (three) and Sharp (three) all had multiple kills in the set.
The third set featured 16 ties, 10 lead changes and five match points - including four for the Broncos. Boise State led 17-15, but Grand Canyon went on a 6-0 run to put the Broncos on the ropes. Coming out of its second timeout, Boise State responded, though, with a 5-0 run of its own to take a 22-21 lead. An ace by Mitchell evened it at 21-21 before a kill by Sharp gave the Broncos the one-point advantage. Service errors prevented the Broncos from pulling away, but with the match at 27-27, Smith's kill gave the Broncos their fourth match point of the set, and then a Grand Canyon attack error ended it.
Top Broncos
- Arianna Bilby turned in 10 kills on 34 attacks (.147), three digs and two blocks.
- Eliza Sharp registered 10 kills on a .643 attack percentage. She also had two blocks.
- Layla Smith had a team-high eight blocks along with nine kills.
- Three Broncos reached double-digits in digs: Kaily Jager (17), Bella McGirr (14) and Bre Mitchell (10).
- Lilli Etter had a team-high 23 assists. Elle Cotton had 20.
- Sydney Dreves (eight), Jager (seven) and Jazi Smith (six) all had multiple kills alongside L. Smith and Sharp.
- With the win, Boise State notched its 20th win of the season. This is Boise State's second 20-win season in the last five years (other: 2021).
- The Broncos have advanced out of the first round of the Mountain West Championship in two straight years and three times in the last four trips.
- Boise State improved to 5-3 all-time in the Mountain West Championship.
The No. 4 seeded Broncos face No. 1 seed Utah State on Friday at 1 p.m. PT/2 p.m. MT. The match can be watched on the MW Network.
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Team Stats
GCU
Boise
Kills
43
51
Errors
20
17
Attempts
124
143
Hitting %
.185
.238
Points
59.0
68.0
Assists
40
47
Aces
4
7
Blocks
12
10
Game Leaders
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
8
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
L
/ Women's Volleyball
L
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
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