Boise State Volleyball Wraps Up Spring Training

BOISE, Idaho - Boise State volleyball has been busy preparing for the 2025 fall campaign this spring. Like every team in its offseason, the volleyball team has been working out since January, improving skills, conditioning and teamwork, while assimilating a pair of early freshman enrollees.

The team is currently practicing 20 hours per week and competing on the weekends in exhibition matches. To date, the team has played three scrimmages over the last three Saturdays. The Broncos met Washington State in McCall, Idaho, then Oregon State in Pendleton, Oregon, followed by an encounter with Idaho State in Ketchum, Idaho.

"The NCAA lets us play four competitions during the spring, and we've already competed in three," said Boise State Head Coach Shawn Garus. "We have played against Washington State, Oregon State, and Idaho State. In all three, we saw a different style of play in each opponent. One that was a little bit more right-side dominant with their offense, one that ran the middles a lot, and another one that ran a really fast offense. So, in each of those scenarios, it's challenged us to adapt to something that we don't see in our own gym, which is the most productive part of the spring season for us."

Team photo at Wood River High School, Spring 2025

The spring competitions are more than just playing each other. The typical day format starts with the teams going through drills with each other in the morning session, where they are on opposite sides of the net. After a break for lunch, the teams get back together and scrimmage for three to four sets.

"We've had a lot of success so far in the spring scrimmages," said Garus. "We've been able to practice skills in a variety of circumstances, and I have seen our team improve a lot this semester. I am really happy with how hard everyone has worked and bought into what we are trying."

Outside of the Saturday scrimmages, the main work has been in the gym and off the court, where the team has focused on team building and communication.

"Since we came back to school in January, the focus has been a lot on team building," Garus said. "For this group, we've had a team building focus on every Friday, and we've kind of rotated that through the group, where each player has an opportunity to choose which style of team building event we want to do.

"Sometimes it's, it's a real fun get-to-know-you type of event. Sometimes it's a little bit more challenging, maybe competitive. But the idea is, let's do things that aren't just on the court for practice or in the game. We wanted to bring the unit closer together so that they can enjoy the process of being a Boise State volleyball student-athlete. We also want them to come together in a competitive way, and support each other through tough times as well."

In addition to building teamwork, the coaches have had to lead the assimilation of two of their recruits, Hallee Heath and Reese Weinert, who graduated from high school early and enrolled in classes at Boise State in January.

"We had two of our recruits enroll in January, and it's been great to have a little bit extra time to work with them through the spring," said Garus. "They're both middle blockers, and that's a big transition from high school or club to college in the speed of the game. It's been great to see both of them in the gym and ready to work every day. They've gotten stronger and faster through this phase of the season, and I'm sure the work they've done in the spring will pay off for their readiness in the fall."

So, with the spring semester coming to an end, what was the staff's goal heading into training?

"We really felt team building would be big in everything we did," said Garus. "Then, through training, can we get everyone, especially the starters, a lot of reps. We wanted to see improvement from everyone. We wanted to build a unit that was close and trusted each other, and had good communication from players to coaches and vice versa. Communication was a point of emphasis, as was skill development. We have seen some people grow into the roles that we think they're capable of playing. We graduated some great seniors last year, so we got some big shoes to fill, but we've been excited to see what players have done this spring."

With school winding down in a couple of weeks, so is the team's practice season. The last exhibition day is this Saturday. The Broncos are hosting four schools in a round-robin style tournament at the Boise State Recreation Center starting at 9 a.m. The tournament features the College of Idaho, Eastern Oregon University, the College of Southern Idaho, and Treasure Valley Community College.

Saturday's Schedule

Morning session, 9 a.m. and 10 a.m.
Lunch
Afternoon session, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.

The season begins in late August, with season tickets going on sale later this spring.

Saturday's Schedule

Players Mentioned

Hallee Heath

Reese Weinert

Related Videos