Boise State volleyball makes history with Mountain West Tournament championship

Rachel Roberts
·3 min read

Only six volleyball teams make the Mountain West Tournament, and Boise State entered as the sixth seed.

But the Broncos are leaving as conference champions.

Boise State scored a four-set win over No. 4 seed UNLV on Friday in the finals at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, winning 19-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-15.

Junior outside hitter Lauren Ohlinger, who had 12 kills and 11 digs in Friday’s championship match, was named Mountain West Tournament MVP.
Junior outside hitter Lauren Ohlinger, who had 12 kills and 11 digs in Friday’s championship match, was named Mountain West Tournament MVP.

The Broncos (24-10) swept No. 3 San Jose State in the first round Wednesday and eliminated No. 2 Utah State in a four-set match Thursday on their way to punching a ticket to the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in program history.

“We knew coming in as the sixth seed that it was going to be a challenge and that people were going to underestimate us and that we were gonna have to play hard for this,” Boise State right side hitter Paige Bartsch said. “I’m just so proud of us all, because we all went out and played so hard and it was awesome.”

The NCAA selection show begins at 6:30 p.m. Mountain time Sunday on ESPNU. The field of 64 will include 32 automatic bids and 32 at-large teams.

Friday’s victory was the first tournament championship in program history and also marked the Broncos’ first appearance in a title match since the 1991 Big Sky Conference final. Boise State’s only other NCAA Tournament appearance came in 2016 as an at-large selection.

Four Broncos registered double-digit kill totals against UNLV, led by Bartsch, the reigning Mountain West Freshman of the Year. The 6-foot-3 right side from Helena, Montana, hammered down 14 kills while adding nine digs, three blocks and one service ace.

“She’s amazing. I’m so proud of everything that she’s done,” Boise State coach Shawn Garus said. “She’s never played right side until the middle of this season. Her role just kept growing through the weekend. I felt so good about her staying in and playing a little defense and just playing with great composure out there as a youngster.”

Boise State junior Lauren Ohlinger skies for a spike in the Broncos’ championship match win over UNLV on Friday, as Danielle Boss (6) and Alyssa Wissinger (4) look on. Ohlinger and Wissinger combined for 22 kills, and Boss had 40 assists and five kills.
Boise State junior Lauren Ohlinger skies for a spike in the Broncos’ championship match win over UNLV on Friday, as Danielle Boss (6) and Alyssa Wissinger (4) look on. Ohlinger and Wissinger combined for 22 kills, and Boss had 40 assists and five kills.

Junior outside hitter Lauren Ohlinger added 12 kills and 11 digs, fifth-year senior middle blocker Alli O’Harra had 11 kills, three blocks and three aces, and redshirt junior middle Alyssa Wissinger had 10 kills.

O’Harra is a graduate of Centennial High and came to Boise State as a graduate transfer after four seasons at Pepperdine.

“I’m a Bronco now and I forever will be,” O’Harra said. “Even though I’m only going to play one year with this team because my eligibility runs out, I really wish it could be more, because I love this team, I love this staff and I love this school. I’m really happy I made the decision to come here.”

Boise State senior setter Danielle Boss dished out 40 assists and chipped in with five kills of her own, and junior libero Allison Casillas contributed 13 digs.

Boss, Casillas and Bartsch were named to the all-tournament team, and Ohlinger was chosen as the MVP.

“I’m excited for our team to experience what’s next, for sure,” Garus said. “They’re on a high right now, and we want to keep them there.”

Boise State advanced to the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament, sweeping then 20th-ranked Western Kentucky before losing in three sets to No. 9 Stanford.