BOISE, Idaho – The Boise State volleyball team lost a close 3-2 match to Utah State Aggies in a Mountain West game, with scores of 25-14, 17-25, 25-18, 22-25, 15-11 on Saturday afternoon. Following the defeat, the Broncos’ overall record shifted to 12-7, with a conference record of 4-4.
Boise State had trouble staying consistent while Utah State had a higher hitting percentage of .371 compared to .206 for a 76 to 55 lead in kills. The Blue and Orange had a greater number of service aces with 13 compared to two and also had more blocks with nine compared to seven.
The Broncos faced offensive difficulties in the first set, leading them to play catch-up for most of the game. In a tie at 8-8, Utah State finished the set with a 17-6 run, ultimately winning it 25-14.
In the second set, Boise State broke the tie at 9-9 with a 3-1 run, securing a 12-10 lead that they kept until the end. Following that, the Broncos maintained a gap between themselves and the Aggies, ultimately securing a victory with a margin of eight points, 25-17.
Utah State gained the upper hand in the third set after a competitive start. Evenly matched at 15-15, the Aggies went on a 7-1 run to take the lead at 22-16. The Broncos were unable to bounce back as the away team secured a 25-18 victory.
In the fourth quarter, the Broncos took the lead for good by going on a 5-0 run after the score was tied at 8-8. Boise State caught up with the set and eventually won by a slim margin of three points, tying the match and leading to a fifth set.
Boise State had a sluggish start in the fifth, trailing 8-5 halfway through. The Broncos made a comeback, narrowing the score to 10-9, but were unable to catch up as the Aggies maintained their lead to win 15-11 and secure the match.
Best Broncos
Paige Bartsch achieved her seventh double-double of the season by leading the team in both kills with 21 and assists with 11 (tied for the highest). She achieved the highest number of service aces, blocks, and points in the team and season, with six each for aces and blocks and 31 points.
Lilli Etter achieved her seventh double-double by matching her career high with 23 assists and adding 10 digs, the most on the team. In addition, she achieved four kills and two aces.
Prominent individuals
Paige Bartsch almost matched her career-high of six service aces; she currently has 126 in total, just two away from equaling ninth place on the all-time career list.
Bartsch’s total of 31 points brought her close to tying for third place on the career points list with 1,611 points.
Bartsch achieved her third match of the year and 23rd of her career with 20 or more kills, bringing her total to 73 career matches with double-digit kills. This puts her just two matches away from tying for third place in program history for most double-digit kills during the Rally Scoring Era (since 2001).
The team achieved a season-best with 13 service aces, which placed them third for aces in a five-set match during the Rally Scoring Era.
Famous quotes
Shawn Garus, the leader of the team
Our performance on the field was not up to par today. I appreciate that we still have an opportunity to come out victorious. Finding strategies to succeed even when not performing at your best holds great importance. I was optimistic about us discovering a solution. However, today our performance was not as precise.
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