Quote from BSUBass77 on July 25, 2023, 8:10 pm

I don't know what to expect this fall in BSU Volleyball.  After winning the MWC Championship Tournament in 2021, essentially the same team didn't make it to the tournament.  The MWC Coach of the year in 21 seemed to be out coached by nearly every MWC team's coach at one point or the other.

So what changes were made since the Broncos missed out on any post season in 2022.

Departures:

Lauren Ohlinger -  decided to transfer to SMU for her final year of eligibility.  While Lauren was an excellent hitter, she was a target when she played on the back line.  Nearly every serve went to her and most of the time she did fine, but she had the most return errors on the team.  Still replacing the offense and senior leadership will be a big task for Shawn.

Kayly Pau - had health problems beginning about 18 months ago.  I have not seen any information that she transferred so it might be health related.  I wish her all the best.  EDIT: Kayly appears to have transferred to CSU Dominguez Hills.  She is on their roster but is listed as a freshman from Boise State.  Hopefully she continues to be cancer free.

Allison Casillas - graduated and might have decided not to return for a covid year. After a search, there is no information beyond BSU on the inter web.

Dana Branavets - quite often the first off the bench in several matches.  She was listed as a hitter, but I remember her coming in for defense.  I am not able to find any information beyond BSU.  EDIT: Dana appears to have transferred to the UC San Diego Tritons as a Libero.

Ashley Hayden -  starting setter, but lost her spot in some matches later in the season.  She must have decided not to return for her senior year.  I always like her, but if she didn't get a good pass from the back line, she had trouble setting.

Sam Beschell -  seldom used Libero that was probably a walk-on.  The problem with walk-ons that do not play much is they get tired of those 6am practices pretty fast.

Jet Taylor -  Late addition to the lineup last year, but she found some playing time.  As a 5th year senior transfer in from a D2 college, she did add maturity and experience.

Ok now who is coming back from that somewhat underachieving lineup:

Returning:

Jordan Miller - junior outside hitter that has a talent for bending the trajectory of the ball with her wrist snap.  She has played in many sets and was part of the 2021 season.  She now has to fill in the shoes of Lauren Ohlinger, which will be a challenge.

Reagan Casey -  RS junior middle blocker, transfer that sat last year with injury.

Chey Day - Senior, at 6'4 has played every position on the team (but not libero officially).  She was the substitute setter for two matches early in the 21 season.  She comes off the bench to play defensive specialist.  She can hit outside, but her main position is middle blocker.

Kiersten Van Kirk - Soph, Montana High School Player of the Year is a 6'3 opposite hitter.  She played several sets last year and started some matches.  She will play more this year, but still behind the 2021 MWC freshman of the year, who is also from Montana.  I expect she will really challenge this year and get more matches.

Nicole Jacob - Soph, seldom used setter that gained some experience later in the season.  She also played defensive specialist a few sets.

Bella McGirr -  Soph, seldom used Libero last season.

Annie Kaminski - RS Senior, Mid blocker that  was freshman of the year in 2020 as a RS fresh.  Anne has the best kill percentage on the team for the last two years. However as a middle, she is most often the 3rd option in Shawn's offense.  But she is true BSU since day one and really fun to see her play.

Paige Bartsch - Junior, at 6'3 with power from the opposite side, she is a force.  I am actually worried that she might hurt some one with her power.  Having said that, she needs to find the subtle keys to her game.  Some of the better coaches in the MWC have found some effective ways to defend her kill shots.  Later in the year she was not as effective as she had been because  they defended her much better.  I think she can use that power and still find the touch to tip it in the empty spots.

Elle Cotton - Soph, 6'0 setter that really challenged to get more matches later in the year.  With another year under her belt, she might be projected to be the starter.

Who transferred in and will they help the team:

Shawn had one of the shortest teams a few years ago, then he recruited hard for 6'2 and taller players.  The sacrifice was defense.  A few years ago we had a solid defender that was a walk on.  Last year she played for USU and noticeably turned that team into a better defensive team.  Concerning that we gave up defensive players that are now playing against us. But, maybe we have made up for that with transfers.

Breanna Mitchell -  Libero Transfer from CSUN with three years to play.  She is now on tour with the MWC  Global Challenge team.  Shawn usually sends his best on these tours.  She was first in the Big West Conference in digs and returned 96.5% of the serves.  It is impressive, but still she can improve on that stat here at BSU.  I think Shawn might have found that defensive specialist that he wished he had last year.

Qairo Bentley -  GR (Yes that is spelled correctly), she came to us after an impressive career at Virginia Commonwealth.  6'0 outside hitter that scored over 3 kills per set.  She could improve on her percentage which was below .2.  But she had 30 aces and only 15 service errors, which is a good ratio.  I expect she will be part of the rotation, but she will have to push out some established players to get into the starting rotation.

Noelani Helm - GR, played for Portland as a setter/OH and racked up awards in the very tough WCC.  At 5'10 she might better suited to challenge Elle as the setter.  But, we will have to see if she makes up her height with technique and athleticism to get her in as a hitter.   Looking at her stats from last year, she really  racked up the assists and had zero return errors with over 280 digs.  This is a big asset for BSU to have a setter that is solid on assists and yet is very effective in defense.   What a battle to see who starts as setter.

New Fresh Faces (Freshmen):  With all the departures from last season, this is the year that a freshman can come in and be the face of the team for the next four years.  I think some of these freshmen will redshirt.  But here they are.

Bridey O'Connor - Santa Margarita HS, Calf.  6'0.  Plays opposite hitter.  She seemed to develop late in high school and was named in the all conference team as a senior and team MVP.  Bridey will be challenging some established players to get any sets this year.  I expect her to redshirt, but with a load of potential.

Layla Smith -  (ease my worried mind).  6'2 middle that is from Humble, Tx. She has loads of accolades from publications in Texas.  She graduated early and has been working with the team all spring.  She has been on championship teams so she knows how to win against tough Texas competition.  Can she beat out Anne Kaminski as the starting MB? Maybe not but she might be able to be the first sub in the rotation.  I have seen some tape and I really want to see her in action.

Kayleigh Carpenter - 5'8 Libero who played outside hitter in high school from Salem Oregon.  Plenty of experience as a starter in high school.  Named to all Ore. first team. and many other accolades.  Kayleigh is joining this summer and might have some catchup to get on the court right away.  Also she is transitioning to defense, which is going to take some time.  But, with her high school experience, she could be that defender that we need for the next few years.

Last and hopefully not least,

Anabel Kotzakov - 6'2 Outside Hitter from Costa Mesa Ca. She has many accolades from her high school and her conference including player of the year by several publications.  She was the clutch player when her team needed her to win the conference title.  Anabel joined the team this summer and will have to prove herself to get playing time, but I think she will gain more playing time as the season goes on.  This one might be special.

Final Thoughts:

I can only suspect that something was wrong with the chemistry of the team last year.  Annie said in a twitter post that the chemistry of the team during spring workouts was very impressive. Which one could conclude that last year's chemistry was not.  We still have a solid group of returners and some talented transfers and freshmen.  I am a fan of Coach Garus and he has a good staff, but every year the MWC gets better and it will take a full effort by the players and the staff to get this team back to where it belongs.