Boise State women’s volleyball strives for success, currently 12-2

Boise State women’s volleyball has been dominating the 2021 season sitting at a 12-2 record overall and 1-1 record in conference play as of Sept. 28. The team’s two losses were against Montana State on Aug. 28 and Colorado State on Sept. 23.

The Broncos opened the 2021 season at the Boise State Invitational where they defeated Dixie State 3-1. Junior outside hitter Lauren Ohlinger led her team to this win with 20 kills and 14 digs. She has continued to lead her team throughout the season while also being named Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, Sept. 13. 

The team’s greatest win this season has been against no. 10 University of Utah on Sept. 13. This 3-1 win was the biggest upset in program history. 

“You know, we’ve played ranked teams before, but I don’t know if we have beaten anybody as high as [no.] 10,” said head coach Shawn Garus after the team’s big win. “It’s just confidence building for all the players and it validates all their hard work, and should motivate them to keep working for more.”

The Broncos remained on this high heading into the weekend of Sept. 16-18, where they beat Santa Clara Broncos and Oregon State University Beavers in sweeping fashion. 

During the match against Santa Clara, sophomore outside hitter Kayly Pau and sophomore outside opposite hitter Makayla Hansen tallied 10 kills each to help Boise State pull the win 3-0.

As the Broncos rolled past the Beavers (3-0) two days later, senior setter Dani Boss was named the Boise State Classic MVP for her 31 assists, three kills, one service ace, nine digs and three block assists. 

“Honestly, it was just a whole team effort tonight,” said Pau after the team’s win against Santa Clara. “We came in knowing that we can beat teams that are tough, we can beat teams that are ranked. We just came out with the mindset that what we’ve done leading up to tonight’s match is in the past and that this is the match that matters right now. I think we all worked together, played our position and supported each other.”

Boise State volleyball headed into conference play against Colorado State and the University of Wyoming after their nine game win streak. Their first game of conference play ended in a 3-0 loss against the Rams. The Broncos have yet to win a match (0-12) in Fort Collins against Colorado State. 

However, Boise State was able to bounce back two days later and defeat the University of Wyoming 3-0 in Laramie. 

“Today’s win was an important bounce back from a poor performance Thursday night,” Garus said. “[Junior libero] Allie Casillas and [sophomore libero] Jolei Akima did a really good job controlling serve receive against Wyoming, which gave Dani Boss lots of offensive options.”

With only two losses under their belt, the Broncos plan to prepare for the rest of the season in hopes of finishing well in conference play. Last season the team finished 10-5 overall and second in the Mountain West Conference behind the University of Nevada Las Vegas. 

The team’s next two matchups include San Jose State on Sept. 30 and the University of Nevada Reno on Oct. 2.