POCATELLO, Idaho - Coming off their 3-0 Big Sky Championship victory last night, the Idaho State volleyball team has been picked to face No. 11 University of Hawaii on Friday, Dec. 6 at 10:30 p.m. MST in Manoa, Hawaii.
"I wasn't expecting that," said senior
Lori Mendenhall-Lee, named to the All-Conference first-team and the All-Tournament team last week. "But it is best place for us, honestly."
"I don't scream and shout much," said Head Coach
Chad Teichert. "It's a good as choice as any I suppose. I definitely wasn't thinking Hawaii. I would have thought Washington or BYU or Colorado State, but it's good. Hawaii is good. Now we just have to get ready to play."
Last night, the Bengals swept regular season co-champion Portland State on their home court to take home their first Big Sky Championship since 1990. Mendenhall-Lee and
Kylee Sessions were both named to the All-Tournament team and sophomore
Makenzie Filer was named the tournament MVP.
"It feels amazing [being named MVP]. There really are no words to describe it," said Filer. "I didn't think they were being serious when they said '
Makenzie Filer from Idaho State.' I was shocked but so grateful."
The Bengals faced reining Big Sky Champion Northern Colorado and both Big Sky Regular Season Champions - North Dakota and Portland State - to win the championship.
"It was pretty unreal. We had the hardest road to win the championship, and I think we came out strong every single game," said Mendenhall-Lee.
"They played so well," said Teichert. "They played really good volleyball in the semi-finals and in the championships. We could have lost, simple fact, but they didn't. I was very pleased with their effort."
Notably from the tournament, the Bengals posted 16 kills on 28 attempts with no errors for a set attack percentage of .571 in their fourth set against North Dakota in the semi-finals.
"It was so important to me [to send Mendenhall-Lee out on a win]," said Filer. "Knowing Lori for so long, I wanted to help her have this experience and help her win."
Filer and Mendenhall-Lee both graduated from Brighton High School in Salt Lake City, Utah.
"Hawaii is good every year," said Teichert. "Their coach has done a fabulous job. People think it would be easy to recruit to Hawaii, but I don't think it is. They are still in the top-10 almost every year."
We Are Your Bengals
