Broncos Kick Off 2025 Campaign at Cactus Classic

EVENT: Boise State beach volleyball will kick off its 2025 season this weekend at the Cactus Classic. The two-day event will begin on Friday, Feb. 28 in Tucson, Ariz. and will consist of four matches over the two-day event. The Broncos will conclude their opening weekend on Sunday, March 2 with a singular dual against UTEP in El Paso, Texas.

OPPONENTS: The squad will open the event on Friday with a dual against No. 11 Arizona State at 9 a.m. MT, followed by a competition against Oregon at 1 p.m. MT. On Saturday, the Broncos will take on No. 18 Grand Canyon at 10 a.m. MT before concluding the Cactus Classic against the host school, Arizona, at 2 p.m. MT. Boise State will then make the drive over to El Paso, Texas for a Sunday road dual against UTEP at 11 a.m. MT.

BROADCASTING INFO: For the first time in program history, all Boise State road duals will be streamed. Each match will have a live feed of each court so that fans can follow the beach volleyball team in real time. A link to all duals can be found here, and fans can receive live updates by following Boise State Beach Volleyball on Facebook, Instagram and X (Twitter).

YEAR IN REVIEW: The Broncos are coming off their best season in program history, finishing the 2023-24 year with a 31-12 record. Boise State finished as runners-up in the Southland Conference Championship for the second consecutive season, narrowly missing out on an automatic bid to the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship. The Blue and Orange took down two ranked opponents last season, including a thrilling 3-2 home victory over No. 17 Arizona.

PRESEASON PREDICTIONS: Boise State was selected as a co-favorite alongside Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the Southland Conference Preseason Poll that was released earlier in February. Both teams received 119 votes in the preseason rankings, with the Broncos receiving eight first-place votes. In addition, Allyson Alden, Ava Anderson, Emilia Guerra-Acuña and Addison Wolden were named SLC Preseason Players to Watch.

RETURNING GREATNESS: Boise State returns seven of its 10 members who received SLC All-Conference recognition from a season ago. First-team members Wolden & Abbie Wolf (No. 4 pair) and Sharli O'Neil & Elli Wolthuis (No. 5 pair) return to the roster, as do second-team honorees Anderson, Guerra-Acuña (No. 2 pair) and Lily Patock (No. 3 pair). Six of the program's 10 all-time wins leaders also return for the season.

NEW FACES: The Blue and Orange welcomes four new players to the roster for the 2025 season. Alden joins the squad from MiraCosta College, and had previously played both indoor and beach volleyball for San Jose State. Freshmen Avery Allen, Susannah Barnett, Charlee Ellena and Addison Moss also will compete for the program for the first time in the spring.

FALL RECAP: For the first time in program history, Boise State sent two pairs – the max allotment allowed per program - to the AVCA National Pairs Championship. Anderson and Wolden earned the additional spot by capturing the Spokane AVCA Pairs Tournament crown. The duo went on to finish 25th at the three-day event in Huntsville, Ala., the highest finish by a pair in program history.

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Players Mentioned

Allyson Alden

Avery Allen

Ava Anderson

Susannah Barnett

Charlee Ellena

Addison Moss

Sharli O'Neil

Lily Patock

Addison Wolden

Abbie Wolf

Elli Wolthuis