BSU volleyball making
an attempt to finish strong

The volleyball season concludes for the Broncos with two

conference matches on the road. With a match at Nevada tonight and

at Fresno State Saturday night, the Broncos need both wins to

maintain the third spot in the Western Division of the Western

Athletic Confernence standings.

Nevada is sitting comfortably in second behind an undefeated Hawaii

team. Fresno is sitting in the fifth spot. A win over the Broncos

would bump the Bulldogs into the fourth spot.

The last meeting between the Nevada Wolfpack and the Broncos was an

intense five game match that resulted in a loss at home for the

Broncos. The competitiveness of the last match will ensure that

their meeting tonight will be just as aggressive and close.

Salaia Salave’a’s exuberant vigor proved to be an asset

to the Wolfpack as she led the offense with 19 kills in the Oct. 16

meeting in Bronco Gym. Not only was Salave’a a force to be

reckoned with on offense, she dominated the net with seven

blocks.

Karly Sipherd, Carly Sorenson, and Karen Adams added five blocks a

piece for the Woflpack. In a deciding game five, two kills by

Salave’a and an attack error by BSU’s Tiffany Starring

ended the match in favor of the Wolfpack.

BSU’s top blocker, Heather Malaschak only tallied four blocks

that match. Malaschak performed well with 14 kills against the

Wolfpack. Cameron Flunder the go-to-girl on offense for the Broncos

totaled 17 kills. Kim Fenneman led the Broncos in kills with

19.

Bronco’s head coach Scott Sandel commented on the

team’s inability to close out the games in the Oct. 16

meeting between the Wolfpack and Broncos. In order to dominate play

tonight, the Broncos will need to focus on blocking Salave’a

out and attacking hard to the outside. Maintaining an aggressive

attitude will enable the Broncos to close out games and win the

match.

The last time the Broncos faced off against the Fresno State

Bulldogs, the Broncos swept in three at home. Christina

Reneau’s 13 kills and Tiffany Bishop’s 10 kills led the

Bulldogs in the loss.

Flunder’s impeccable stamina combined with Malaschak’s

resilient attacking ability allowed the Broncos to dominate the

scoreboard. Flunder tallied 15 kills and Malaschak tallied 11 kills

and four blocks. Jamie Claussen added eight kills, Fenneman seven,

Christina Melvin five and Telia Peterson four.

Both the Bulldogs and the Broncos approach Saturday’s match

coming off of a loss. Nationally ranked Hawaii swept the Bulldogs

recently in a conference . Hawaii sits at the top of WAC and second

in the nation. The Broncos lost in a non-conference match to Utah

Valley State last Thursday.

The Wolfpack extended their winning streak to nine with a

non-conference rival match against University of Nevada Las Vegas.

The Wolfpack intend to continue their streak with a win over the

Broncos tonight.

The Broncos make their first appearance in the WAC tournament next

weekend. Going into the tournament fresh off of two conference wins

would surely stimulate conversation about how tough of an opponent

the Broncos can be.

Amber Fuger
Sports Writer

Related Posts:

1. BSU set sights on WAC title
2. Volleyball falls short of victory on senior night
3. Volleyball squad goes 1-1 over weekend
4. Volleyball squad collects two wins over weekend
5. Weekend sports roundup: Volleyball and soccer teams complete road trips