VB: Broncos sweep Falcons 3-0

Oct. 8, 2011

USAFA, Colo. - Boise State volleyball dominated Air Force Saturday night in Colorado winning the Mountain West contest in straight sets over the Falcons.  The Broncos were impressive from the start as they cruised to a 25-13, 25-19, 25-17 victory in a match that was broadcast live on the Mountain West Sports Network. Redshirt freshman Brittany Reardon led Boise State with nine kills while hitting an impressive .615 percent from the floor. The win snapped a three-match losing streak as Boise State improved to 11-8 overall and 2-3 in conference play. The Broncos will wrap-up the weekend's action when they travel to Orem, Utah, to face Utah Valley in a nonconference match Monday night.

"This was a big win for us on the road in league, it will help our confidence," said Boise State head coach Shawn Garus. "We played really well tonight.  We have struggled a little lately and to come out with a conference win on the road is big for us. Several people stepped up for us in the match, Brittany (Reardon) hit the ball solid and Bree (Nesselhuf) had a big night for us as well.

All three sets were close early before the Broncos pulled away down the stretch. The first set saw the Broncos blow a one-point, 5-6, deficit open with a 10-1 run that led to a 12-point 25-13 victory for the early 1-0 match lead. The second set was similar in that it went back and forth early before Boise State opened it up. Tied at 10 all, the Broncos slowly pulled away with an 8-2 run and eventually won by six at 25-19 for a 2-0 match lead heading into the intermission.

The second half saw Boise State open fast taking a 5-0 lead. The Falcons then rallied to take a 12-9 lead seemly shifting momentum their way. However after a Bronco time out, Boise State regrouped to out score Air Force 16-5 down the stretch for a 25-17 set three win and a 3-0 match victory.

Reardon led Boise State with 10.5 points on nine kills, one ace and one block assist. Breann Nesselhuf tied Reardon's point total on six kills (.188), three aces and three block assists, followed by Liz Harden with seven points (.417) and two block assists. Nesselhuf also added team-highs for assists and digs with 17 and 10 respectively, followed by Casey Rose with 14 assists. The Broncos finished the night hitting .347 percent (33-7-75) as a team which included .481 percent in the second set and .409 in the first.

Air Force was led by Victoria Foster with 11 points on 11 kills while hitting .280 on the night. Cami Richan and Ayesha Hein each added six points on six kills. The Falcons recorded a .070 hitting percentage (34-27-100) in the contest.

Final Match Summary

Boise State def. Air Force 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-17)

Boise State (11-8, 2-3 MW)
(Kills-aces-blocks) - Reardon, Brittany 9-1-1; Harden, Liz 6-0-2; Nesselhuf, Breann 6-3-3; Jones, Fiona 5-1-0; Nwagbuo, Darlene 4-0-5; Griffin, Elizabeth 3-0-1; Remy, Amanda 0-1-0; Rose, Casey 0-2-0; Totals 33-8-6.0. (Assists) - Nesselhuf, Breann 17; Rose, Casey 14. (Dig leaders) - Nesselhuf, Breann 10; Remy, Amanda 6.

Air Force (3-15, 0-5 MW)
(Kills-aces-blocks) - FOSTER, Victoria 11-0-0; RICHAN, Cami 6-0-0; HEIN, Ayesha 6-0-0; POTTLE, Brooke 3-2-0; HOLT, Kristen 3-0-1; WISE, Josalynn 2-0-0; BIEBER, Claire 2-0-0; CLARY, Megan 1-0-0; PERICH, Maiya 0-1-0; Totals 34-3-1.0. (Assists) - KELTNER, Hillary 21; WISE, Josalynn 11. (Dig leaders) - PERICH, Maiya 12; RICHAN, Cami 9.

Courtesy Broncosports.com