A slow start for Boise State women’s volleyball ended with a total offensive comeback in Pocatello as the Orange and Black Classic unfolded, 2-1.
The three-day tournament gave the Broncos their seventh and eighth sweep of the season after a hard-fought opening match loss on Sept. 17.
“We’ve been working really hard on the preseason,” outside hitter Sydney Dreves said. “Ending really strong with our last preseason tournament was a really good feeling and left us really confident going into PAC-12 play.”
Boise State opened the tournament with a fight, falling to Wyoming, 3-2, in a match that lived up to its five-set length and included 19 tied scores and eight lead changes.
Despite the loss, five Broncos posted career-highs including setter Tehya Maeva, who marked a high of 31 assists.
In set one, the Cowgirls came in swinging, stringing together back-to-back kills. Freshman Azlynn Tittmann responded with two consecutive service aces to tie up the score, 8-8 as she led the offense with a career-high 15 kills.
The Broncos’ explosive offense was not enough to find their backing, leaving space for the Cowgirls to ride a six-point lead towards a 25-20 win.
Boise State regrouped in set two, trading shots with Wyoming before Athena Cox took over at the net. The middle blocker tallied three blocks in the set, finishing with a career-high of five throughout the match, fueling a 25-16 Boise State gain.
A promising service ace from freshman Savannah Sheridan carried the Broncos to a 10-5 lead in set three, but Wyoming scuffled back to tie it at 11 before Boise State pulled away for a 25-21 run.
Set four began with both teams trading scoring runs before kills from Kendall Hastings, Dreves and Tittmann brought momentum back to the Broncos. Hastings sent the match to a fifth set after a career-high 14th kill of the night, averaging a .619 hitting percentage.
Wyoming took the reins at the start of the fifth set, building a 7-2 lead the Broncos couldn’t overcome, allowing the Cowgirls to ride home, 15-8.
“We had really good offensive distribution this weekend,” Tittmann said. “We are all super excited to carry that momentum into conference play.”
Boise State took time settling into the second day as the Pacific Tigers raced to a four-point lead off two errors and two kills.
Maeva continued to be a catalyst for the Broncos’ response as players across the roster made high impact plays. The setter recorded a team high of 23 assists while Libero Melia Barlow and outside hitter Dreves made impacts of their own, attacking Pacific with three service aces apiece.
Boise State charged Pacific for a total of 45 kills compared to the Tigers’ 34, leading to a 3-0 Bronco victory.
“It was good to bounce back with a win,” Head Coach Shawn Garus said. “I was excited to see everyone get some playing time.”
In the final game of the tournament, Boise State claimed revenge on Idaho State’s home floor, avenging an earlier loss to the Bengals in ExtraMile Arena.
After the Broncos struggled to find their footing early in the first set, an explosive offense led by Dreves and Tittmann set the pace. With each tallying 15 digs, leading to a tight 3-0 victory.
“We had a really tough loss to Wyoming, but our team bounced back with a bunch of grit,” Dreves said. “It showed how strong mentally we are and overall I’m really proud of how this team fought back.”
Boise State will play their first Pac-12 conference match against Gonzaga on Thursday in ExtraMile Arena.
