Saturday, November 8
Boise, Idaho
Noon
Boise State
16-9,8-6Mountain West
3
vs
1
Colorado State
16-8,10-4Mountain West
1
2
3
4
F
Colorado St.
22
25
23
22
1
Boise St.
25
19
25
25
3
14 Blocks, Mitchell's 18 Digs Lift Boise State to Win over Colorado State
11/8/2025 3:18:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
The victory helped the Broncos split the season series with the Rams
BOISE, Idaho – A defensive effort highlighted by 14 team blocks and 18 digs by Bre Mitchell lifted Boise State to a four-set win over Colorado State (25-22, 19-25, 25-23, 25-22) on Saturday in Bronco Gym.
The Broncos (16-9, 8-6 MW) bounced back to split the season series against the Rams (16-8, 10-4 MW) not only behind their defense but Layla Smith and Eliza Sharp as well, who paced the attack with 12 kills apiece. Sharp hit .556 on her 18 swings (two errors) while Smith turned in a .440 clip (25 attacks, one error).
Smith also had seven blocks to go with her dozen kills. Sharp had four blocks.
Arianna Bilby registered 11 kills and three blocks to make it a trio of Broncos in double-figures in kills.
Kailyn Jager was all-around in her effort, totaling nine kills, six digs and six blocks.
Boise State trailed early in the first set, and after falling behind 13-10, it scored eight of the next 11 points to seize an 18-16 lead. The Broncos went on to make it 21-18 behind its fourth block of the set and finished the opener with six stops. Jager, meanwhile, had four of her nine kills in the match during the first set.
After Colorado State hit .333 and had 17 kills in the second to even the match at 1-1, the Broncos responded in the third in a set that featured six lead changes. A long rally ended by a Bilby kill followed by an attack error by the Rams made it 14-10 and forced Colorado State to call a timeout. Boise State kept at it and eventually opened up a 20-15 lead on a kill by Smith. The Rams called their final timeout, though, and used the break in momentum to go on to take a 22-21 advantage. However, Bilby came through with kills to make it 23-22 and 24-23 before a combo block by Sharp and Sydney Dreves gave the Broncos the set at 25-23.
In the fourth, the Broncos trailed at 11-8 but used a 4-0 run fueled by two kills and a block from Smith to seize the lead at 12-11. Boise State could only open up a lead as big as two points as Colorado State went on to tie it seven times down the stretch. The Broncos never trailed, though, after taking the one-point lead at 12-11, and Smith and Sharp went back-to-back on kills to give Boise State an edge at 23-21. Bilby eventually sealed the match with two kills over the final three points.
The Broncos hit .324 in the fourth while Smith (five kills), Bilby (four) and Sharp (four) combined for 13 of the 16 kills in the set.
Quotable
"I believe that we had a good recovery practice (on Friday), and we focused on one of the values in our locker room, which is candid communication and vulnerability. And I think our team was owning the areas that they wanted to get better at individually, and they were sharing what they could do to help each other at the same time. So overall, I feel like our team responded really well to the loss (on Thursday against Wyoming), and that allowed us to play an inspired effort today."
"I thought Bre (Mitchell) had a really good match today. They tried to avoid her. They tried not to serve her, but she still takes more court than everybody else. And she passed really well. I thought she served really consistently. And I just loved her energy out on the court. She was playing for everybody else today and really celebrating for the blockers. I loved her energy today."
Shawn Garus, Boise State head coach
Â
Top Broncos
Boise State travels to California to play at San Jose State on Nov. 13 at 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT.
The Broncos (16-9, 8-6 MW) bounced back to split the season series against the Rams (16-8, 10-4 MW) not only behind their defense but Layla Smith and Eliza Sharp as well, who paced the attack with 12 kills apiece. Sharp hit .556 on her 18 swings (two errors) while Smith turned in a .440 clip (25 attacks, one error).
Smith also had seven blocks to go with her dozen kills. Sharp had four blocks.
Arianna Bilby registered 11 kills and three blocks to make it a trio of Broncos in double-figures in kills.
Kailyn Jager was all-around in her effort, totaling nine kills, six digs and six blocks.
Boise State trailed early in the first set, and after falling behind 13-10, it scored eight of the next 11 points to seize an 18-16 lead. The Broncos went on to make it 21-18 behind its fourth block of the set and finished the opener with six stops. Jager, meanwhile, had four of her nine kills in the match during the first set.
After Colorado State hit .333 and had 17 kills in the second to even the match at 1-1, the Broncos responded in the third in a set that featured six lead changes. A long rally ended by a Bilby kill followed by an attack error by the Rams made it 14-10 and forced Colorado State to call a timeout. Boise State kept at it and eventually opened up a 20-15 lead on a kill by Smith. The Rams called their final timeout, though, and used the break in momentum to go on to take a 22-21 advantage. However, Bilby came through with kills to make it 23-22 and 24-23 before a combo block by Sharp and Sydney Dreves gave the Broncos the set at 25-23.
In the fourth, the Broncos trailed at 11-8 but used a 4-0 run fueled by two kills and a block from Smith to seize the lead at 12-11. Boise State could only open up a lead as big as two points as Colorado State went on to tie it seven times down the stretch. The Broncos never trailed, though, after taking the one-point lead at 12-11, and Smith and Sharp went back-to-back on kills to give Boise State an edge at 23-21. Bilby eventually sealed the match with two kills over the final three points.
The Broncos hit .324 in the fourth while Smith (five kills), Bilby (four) and Sharp (four) combined for 13 of the 16 kills in the set.
Quotable
"I believe that we had a good recovery practice (on Friday), and we focused on one of the values in our locker room, which is candid communication and vulnerability. And I think our team was owning the areas that they wanted to get better at individually, and they were sharing what they could do to help each other at the same time. So overall, I feel like our team responded really well to the loss (on Thursday against Wyoming), and that allowed us to play an inspired effort today."
"I thought Bre (Mitchell) had a really good match today. They tried to avoid her. They tried not to serve her, but she still takes more court than everybody else. And she passed really well. I thought she served really consistently. And I just loved her energy out on the court. She was playing for everybody else today and really celebrating for the blockers. I loved her energy today."
Shawn Garus, Boise State head coach
Â
Top Broncos
- Layla Smith had 12 kills to match the team-high. The junior hit .440 and had seven blocks.
- Eliza Sharp recorded 12 kills on a .556 attack percentage. She also had four blocks.
- Bre Mitchell's 18 digs were her most in a match since Oct. 2 vs. Fresno State (19).
- Bella McGirr had a season-high 13 digs.
- Lilli Etter had 31 assists and five digs.
- Boise State improved to 8-5 at home. The Broncos play their final two home matches of the season during the final week of regular season play.
- The Broncos have double-digit blocks in three straight matches.
- Boise State has won two of its last three home matches against Colorado State.
Boise State travels to California to play at San Jose State on Nov. 13 at 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT.
Team Stats
CSU
Boise
Kills
62
57
Errors
26
19
Attempts
163
157
Hitting %
.221
.242
Points
74.0
75.0
Assists
60
56
Aces
3
4
Blocks
9
14
Game Leaders
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
11
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
9
Aces
2
Blocks
6
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
L
/ Women's Volleyball
L
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballWBB | Highlights vs Nevada
Monday, March 10
Volleyball Preview: The Outside Hitters
Friday, August 23
Volleyball Preview: The Middle Blockers
Thursday, August 22
Volleyball Preview: The Liberos & Defensive Specialists
Wednesday, August 21
