Boise State leads the nation in blocks. Now the Broncos go for first tournament title
The Boise State volleyball team earned the final spot in this week’s Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas.
While they may have finished sixth in the regular-season standings, the Broncos are the best of the best when it comes to blocking.
Boise State leads the nation with 326.5 total blocks this season, and they’ll need that defensive wall to hold up in their tournament opener against No. 3 San Jose State. The match begins at 2 p.m. Mountain time Wednesday at UNLV’s Cox Pavilion.
The Spartans (19-9) won both meetings this season, hanging on for a five-set victory in Boise on Sept. 30 before claiming a four-set win in San Jose on Nov. 13.
If the Broncos win Wednesday, they’ll advance to the semifinals, where they will face second-seeded Utah State (22-8) at 2 p.m. Thursday. The Aggies shared the regular-season title with Colorado State.
The Broncos’ front line has recorded double-digit team blocks in 20 of 31 contests, with a high of 18 against San Jose State in Boise. The Broncos (21-10) also lead the Mountain West and rank fifth in the NCAA for blocks per set at 2.84.
Middle blocker Alyssa Wissinger leads the way at the net, ranking first in the Mountain West and 12th in the nation for blocks per set (1.37). The 6-foot-2 redshirt junior also leads the conference and checks in 19th nationally for total blocks (134).
Five other Broncos have 50 or more blocks this season: fifth-year senior middle blocker Allie O’Harra (88), sophomore opposite Makayla Hansen (75), senior setter Danielle Boss (73), senior middle blocker Jessica Donahue (62) and junior outside hitter Lauren Ohlinger (60).
Donahue set the school record for career blocks during the rally scoring era (2001 to present) during the Broncos’ match against Nevada on Nov. 11. She currently has 438 career blocks.
A live stream of all Mountain West Tournament matches is available online at themw.com/watch.
The Mountain West volleyball tournament was discontinued after the 2011 season, with the regular-season champion earning the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The championship was originally scheduled to return last year but was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Broncos have never won a league tournament title and have an overall record of 7-23 in such events. This will be the 22nd conference tournament appearance for Boise State since 1980, with its last victory coming in the 2009 Western Athletic Conference Tournament.
BOISE STATE BASKETBALL
MEN: After a fifth-place showing at the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic, including a first-round loss to eventual champion and 16th-ranked St. Bonaventure, the Broncos (3-2) return to action Friday against Cal State Bakersfield (2-2). Tipoff is 7 p.m. at ExtraMile Arena, and the game will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network, which is available online at broncosports.com/mwn.
The Broncos lead the all-time series 4-0, with the last meeting between the two teams coming in 2011.
KenPom.com gives Boise State a 92% chance of defeating the Roadrunners, with a predicted score of 74-58.
WOMEN: The Broncos travel to Boulder, Colorado, this week for the Rocky Mountain Hoops Classic at the Buffs’ CU Events Center.
Boise State (1-2) opens against Louisiana Tech (3-1) at 2 p.m. Friday followed by a matchup against Wisconsin (1-3) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
Both games will be streamed online by the Pac-12 Network, or listen on the radio at 1350 AM.
The Broncos are coming off an 84-40 loss at BYU.
This story was originally published November 23, 2021 at 1:03 PM.
