Oct. 2, 2003
Stats
Pocatello, ID--Idaho State University had a total of 10.5 blocks, led by seven-block performances from Felice Yocopis and Kamie Olsen, as the Bengals defeated Portland State, 30-22, 30-23, 30-18, in Big Sky Conference volleyball action Thursday night at Reed Gymnasium.
Yocopis, a sophomore from Phoenix, AZ, nearly posted a triple-double as she totaled nine kills, eight digs and seven blocks. Olsen, a junior from South Jordan, UT, had eight kills, seven blocks and a .385 attack percentage. Ali Gorny, a junior from Littlerock, CA, had another strong night with 12 kills against just one attack error for a .500 attack percentage.
The Bengals, who hit a strong .349 for the match, came out firing. PSU took a 1-0 lead, but never led again. An 8-3 Bengal run midway through the game turned an 11-10 lead into a 19-13 advantage. PSU never got closer than five points the rest of the game. ISU had 19 kills and a .455 attack percentage in game one, winning 30-22.
Game two was a tight affair early on. Though the Vikings led just once, at 1-0, there were eight ties, including at 13-13. Five attack errors, helped by four ISU blocks, keyed a 6-0 run and the Bengals pulled away for a 30-23 win and a 2-0 lead.
Game three was runaway for the Bengals who had 18 kills, against just two attack errors, and hit .421 in winning the last game 30-18. ISU finished out the match with a 7-1 run.
"Our team played very solid, consistent volleyball throughout tonight," Head Coach Mike Welch said. "We put Portland State in a position where they had to respond to our play. Our blocking really took Portland State out of their offense."
With the win the Bengals improved to 12-4 overall and 2-1 in the Big Sky. Portland State fell to 9-4, 0-2. ISU will host Eastern Washington on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at Reed Gymnasium in an important Big Sky Conference match.
"There's a group of teams that are in a position to challenge for the conference championship and Eastern Washington is one of them," Welch said. "Winning at home is going to be key for us to get in that position (winning the conference) as well."
