BOISE, Idaho (October 15, 2026) — Washington State women's volleyball defeated Boise State 3-2 Thursday, dropping the first two sets before taking the final three 25-19, 25-19, 15-8.
The Cougars (8-8, 3-3 Pac-12) finished with 73 kills and a .331 hitting percentage, while Boise State hit .193 with 60 kills and 26 attack errors. The Cougars held advantages in digs, 77-70, and total blocks, 11-5.
Eliana Ti'a led the Cougs with a career-high 22 kills, hit .396 and added two aces, 10 digs and four blocks.
Emerson Matthews recorded 16 kills while hitting .368 and collected a career-high 19 digs.
Audrey Hollis matched a career-high with 15 kills, to go with 25 assists and 14 digs.
Naomi White added five kills and a team-high eight total blocks.
After teams traded points early, WSU strung together four straight points on Ti'a’s serve, getting two kills from Matthews, one from Kate Hayhurst and a Boise State attack error to move in front 8-4. Boise State came back within 9-8, later pulled even at 12-12, and after Wazzu went back up 14-12, Boise State scored six straight points for an 18-14 lead. The Cougars kept the set within reach with kills by Hollis and Kryssa Moerman, then cut a 21-16 deficit to 21-19 before Boise State reached set point at 24-21 and closed the 25-22 win.
WSU moved ahead 4-1 in the second set with kills by Ti'a and Hollis, but Boise State answered to tie the score at 5-5 and went in front 7-5 on a block and a kill. Boise State kept building through the middle of the set, stretching a 17-14 lead to 20-14 with two kills and an ace. Wazzu chipped back late, getting a Moerman kill and a Hayhurst-White block before a four-point push from down 24-18 to within 24-22 that included kills by Hollis and Ti'a, but Boise State closed the set at 25-22.
After the third set was tied 1-1, the Cougars won seven of the next eight rallies, including four straight points on Ti'a’s serve, to move ahead 8-2 behind kills from Hollis, Ti'a, Matthews and Moerman. Boise State cut into the margin with an ace and a block during a three-point run that made it 12-9, then later got within 13-11 on another ace. WSU rebuilt the cushion with two Boise State attack errors and a block by Moerman and Ti'a, then stretched the set to 20-14 before kills by White and Ti'a helped Wazzu reach 23-16 and Hollis closed the 25-19 set-three win with a kill.
Boise State built a 6-3 lead to open set four, but the Cougs got back to 6-6 on a service error and two attack errors. After Boise State went back in front 7-6, Matthews tied it with a kill and Hayhurst followed with another to give WSU an 8-7 lead, with the set remaining tight until the Cougars held a 14-13 edge. Wazzu created separation from there, reaching 17-14 on kills by Ti'a and Matthews around a Boise State attack error before Ti'a added a kill and consecutive aces to make it 20-14, and White later delivered set point and closed the 25-19 WSU win with another kill.
The Cougars scored the first two points of the fifth set and kept the lead early, using kills from Ti'a and Matthews to move ahead 8-4. After another Ti'a kill made it 9-5, Matthews served a four-point stretch that included two Ti'a kills and consecutive blocks by Ti'a and White to push Wazzu to 13-5. Boise State used a kill and back-to-back service aces to close within 13-8, but WSU reached set point on another Ti'a-White block and finished the 15-8 set win with Hollis' kill from Maddy Joswick.
Notes
- WSU recorded team season highs with 73 kills, 77 digs, and a hitting percentage of .331 in the match.
- WSU has recorded 8+ blocks in 14 of 16 matches this season, and 12+ in seven of them.
- The Cougars have held their opponents to below a .200 hitting percentage 10 times this season.
- Audrey Hollis matched a career-high with 15 kills.
- Hollis has hit .323 or better in consecutive matches.
- Hollis has recorded 3+ kills and 15+ assists in nine of the last 11 matches.
- Naomi White has notched 6+ total blocks in 10 of the last 15 matches
- Eliana Ti'a totaled a career-high 22 kills and 26 points.
- Ti'a set a season-high with a hitting percentage of .396.
- Emerson Matthews achieved a season-high hitting percentage of .368 to go with a career-high of 19 digs.
- Livia Ward achieved a season-high of 33 assists on the night, surpassing 250 assists on the season.
Up next, the Cougars host Fresno State Saturday, Oct. 17, at noon in Pullman, Wash.
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