Up to Speed: Our weekly recap of Bronco Sports, Sept. 6-12

By Sports & Rec staff

Women’s volleyball sweeps Pacific University at the Sacramento State Invitational (Sept. 10)

By Hunter Bos

The Boise State women’s volleyball team beat Pacific University 3-0 on Sept. 10 at the Sacramento State Invitational. This win propelled the Broncos to a 6-1 overall season record and their sixth straight victory this season.

In the first set, the Broncos were down 15-10, but sophomore outside opposite hitter Makayla Hansen turned on the heat and scored four of the next six points.

Boise State was down 5-8 in the second set when junior outside hitter Lauren Ohlinger, junior middle blocker Alyssa Wissinger and Hansen went on a 9-0 run to give Boise State the lead for the rest of the set.

The Broncos hit a season-high of .382 hitting record while Hansen and Ohlinger went on to finish the match with double-digit kills. 

Hansen also broke a career-hitting record of .481 along with Ohlinger who broke her previous hitting record of .343 for 13 kills.

Women’s volleyball beats CSUN 3-1 to improve 7-1 overall (Sept. 10)

By Nathaniel Wilder

The Boise State volleyball team downed the Matadors from California State University Northridge (CSUN) 3-1 in their second match of the day on Sept. 10 at the Sacramento State Invitational.  

Junior outside hitter Lauren Ohlinger led the charge for the Broncos, earning her fourth double-double of the season with a team-high of 16 kills and 13 digs along with two block assists. 

Senior center Danielle Boss also had her fourth double-double of the season, contributing a team-high of 43 assists and 10 digs. 

The Broncos had to overcome some adversity though, in the form of dropping the first set of the match by a score of 30-28.    

In the second set, the Broncos dominated, winning 25-13. 

The third and fourth sets were battles, but Boise State emerged victorious, winning the third set 25-21 and the match-winning fourth set 26-24.  

This match victory moved the Bronco season record to 7 wins and only 1 loss.

Women’s soccer loses 3-0 against Utah Valley for their first loss of the season (Sept. 10)

By Desmond Ordonez

After beginning the season unbeaten, the Broncos returned home from Orem, Utah with their first loss of the season by a score of 3-0. 

Prior to Friday’s match, the Broncos were one of the few teams in the country to avoid letting up a score five matches into the season. However, that streak came to an end for the young team on Sept. 10. 

Utah Valley got off to a rapid start, scoring early in the first half, and Boise State had trouble recovering. 

Towards the end of the match, the Wolverines were able to squeeze out two more goals, both scored by Sadie Brockbank. One goal was scored in the 25th minute of the second half and the other in the 68th. 

Following the loss, Boise State fell to 5-1 in their overall season record.

Men’s tennis claims victory at 2021 Dar Walters Classic (Sept. 10-12)

By Lexi Almeido 

The Boise State men’s tennis team competed at the 2021 Dar Walters Classic at the Appleton Tennis Center at Boise State over the weekend on Sept. 10-12. The tournament was played in a mini-duel format, where each matchup featured two pairs who played a doubles match and two singles matches. 

On Saturday, Sept. 11, senior Simon Arca Costas and redshirt senior Luka Soskic had a pair of 2-1 wins to carry themselves into the championship. In their singles matches, each won a straight-set against Utah State. The pair also won their first doubles match of the season in the semifinals against the University of Montana. 

Fifth-year Kyryll Kryvchun and redshirt senior Michael Bott went 5-0 on Saturday after dropping their second-round doubles match the day prior. The pair had singles wins against the University of Montana and swept Air Force in the semifinals. 

In the final round matchup between the two Bronco duos, Arca Costas and Soskic came out on top and claimed the 2021 Dar Walters Classic. Arca Costas and Soskic rallied for a 2-1 victory over Kryvchun and Bott in the mini-duel format.

Women’s volleyball rolls past Sacramento State (Sept. 11)

By Ryan Marshall

The Boise State volleyball team rolled past Sacramento State University on Sept. 11. The Broncos won all three sets 25-19, 25-18 and 25-13 against the Hornets. The team is now 8-1 overall. 

In the second set, the Hornets led by 1. Boise State had 11 blocks and held Sacramento State to .133 hitting percent.  

“It was a really well-played match today by our entire squad,” said Head Coach Shawn Garus. “Both middles, [redshirt junior] Alyssa Wissinger and [graduate student] Alli O’Harra were really effective today. [Junior outside hitter] Lauren Ohlinger had her best match of the weekend hitting with a lot of pace and great variety. But what really stood out to me was exceptional defensive play by [sophomore lobero] Jolei Akima, the tournament MVP.”

Ohlinger and Wissinger both got a spot on the all-tournament team. Akima was a huge force defensively, with 15 digs, a pair of service aces and a pair of assists. 

Boise State suffers second straight loss against University of Montana (Sept. 12)

By Matthew Valento

The Boise State women’s soccer team lost to the University of Montana 1-0 on Sunday, September 12th. 

With this loss, the women’s soccer team falls to a 5-2 record for the season in a two-game losing streak after starting the season with five straight victories. The Broncos hope to bounce back against California State University Bakersfield Friday, Sept. 17.

In the University of Montana match, the defense for both teams were nearly perfect for the majority of the match. However at the 64th minute, Bella O’Brien scored the first and only goal of the match for the Grizzlies.  

With the Broncos leading in shots 10-9, Boise State struggled to get the ball in the back of the net.

Boise State has one more non-conference game against CSU Bakersfield. The Broncos will then embark on a four-game road trip to begin playing their Mountain West Conference opponents.