Volleyball stands alone atop the Mountain West

Utah State volleyball beat Boise State on Monday afternoon at home in the Wayne Estes Center to claim the Mountain West regular season championship. 

The Aggies (21-5, 14-1 MW) continued their historic season as they beat the Broncos (11-13, 7-7 MW) in four sets to win the outright regular season Mountain West championship. Their 14-1 record in conference play is the second-best start in school history following the 1979 team. This is also the third year in a row the Aggies have won at least a share of the Mountain West championship.  

The first set was a back-and-forth battle as the Aggies and Broncos came out swinging. The Aggies took the lead at the start of the set, but a mid-set rally by the Broncos helped them come back and take as large as a three-point lead late into the set. Despite a late rally by the Aggies, the Broncos maintained their lead and took the first set 27-25. 

The Broncos continued their momentum from the first set into the second set. The Broncos had an onslaught of kills to gain a big lead early on 13-6. The Aggies rallied back slowly, and after a kill and an ace by Tatum Stall on back-to-back possessions the Aggies tied it 17-17. The Aggies took the lead and didn’t give it up for the rest of the set, finishing the second set off with a big block and winning it 25-20.  

The third set was another back-and-forth battle between both teams as neither team took a large lead for most of the set. The largest lead came by the Broncos as they took a three-point lead 18-15. The back-and-forth action continued until the very end tied 25-25. However, the Aggies would eventually win the set 27-25 on a kill by Shelby Capllonch.  

During the final, the Aggies separated themselves from the Broncos part way through the set, taking a 19-13 lead. For the rest of the set, both teams went back and forth. Despite the Broncos’ best efforts and a last-minute rally, the Aggies finished the set winning 25-20.  

With the win, the Aggies have now won the Mountain West championship the past three years. Head coach Rob Neilson attributes the amount of experience on the team to helping them win games despite close sets.  

“I thought we played really well. You know, so it wasn’t like we came out late. That team just played unbelievably good volleyball. And it was a battle and I think that was it more than anything,“ Neilson said about Boise State. “Yeah, and I mean, you know, this group. This has got to be one of the more accomplished groups has come through Utah State and so you know, they know how to win,” Neilson said about his team. 

BSU was led by Paige Bartsch ending the game with 25 kills and 58 attacks. The next leading Broncos only had seven kills a piece. For USU, Tatum Stall, Shelby Capllonch, Kelsey Watson and Adna Mehmedovic all had 10 or more kills a piece.  

Kelsey Watson is one of seven seniors USU has on its roster. She had two back-to-back blocks, one on BSU’s Bartsch which helped turn the momentum in favor of the Aggies.  

“This Boise State team, they’re a really good team. And they came out firing and they had one attacker that we knew we really needed to stop. I think getting to the point where we could stop her was really what kept us going and really pushed us forward,” Watson said. “I came here from another school and coming into this environment and getting these types of wins with this type of team, I’m just so grateful for it.” 

The Aggies have now tied the 2021 USU team for most wins in Mountain West conference play. The Aggies play their last home game on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. for senior night and have an opportunity to surpass the 2021 team mark.