Oct. 24, 2003
Stats
Pocatello, ID--Ali Gorny had 22 kills and the Bengals outblocked the top blocking team in the Big Sky Conference as Idaho State defeated Montana State, 30-25, 30-28, 30-23, in Big Sky Conference volleyball action Friday night at Reed Gymnasium.
Gorny, a junior from Littlerock, CA, was dominant, picking up a career high in kills for a three-game match. She was consistent as well, getting six kills in the first two games, then 10 more in the final game. She added 12 digs to post her 12th double-double of the season.
"I kind of wanted to redeem myself after our last match against Montana State," Gorny said. "I was a little leery before the match, but after the first five or six points I was ready to go. It was huge for us (beating MSU), just for the confidence. It's big to beat a team like Montana State, especially since we were tied with them."
All three games were tight from the start. There were seven ties and three lead changes in the first game with the Bobcats leading 18-14 midway through the game. ISU then went on a 5-0 run, keyed by a pair of kills by Jennie James, to take back the lead at 19-18. The Bobcats rallied to tie the game at 24-24, but the Bengals responded with two kills by Felice Yocopis to win six of the next seven points, and the game, 30-25.
A 7-0 run early in game two gave the Bobcats a 9-4 lead. ISU responded with a 7-3 run to cut the lead to one at 12-11. But Montana State held onto the lead until late in the game. Finally, back-to-back kills by Felice Yocopis and a pair of MSU attack errors keyed a 4-0 run that gave ISU it's first lead since early in the game at 27-26. Two more Gorny kills put ISU over the top for a 30-28 win in game two. The Bobcats came out and took a 7-3 lead, but slowed after that. ISU outscored MSU 8-2 to take a lead they would not relinquish.
"Montana State handled us pretty well at their place," Head Coach Mike Welch said. "Tonight we came out strong and composed. We didn't show that in Montana. Both Ali and Felice (Yocopis) did well offensively tonight. We changed our offense to help them both offensively. After Ali got her confidence she just hammered them. There wasn't one part of our game that stood out, we were strong in all phases."
Yocopis had nine kills, seven assists and 10 digs. Martha Brinton had 44 assists and nine digs. Heather Gilmore had 12 kills and 14 assists for a double-double. Kim Stonehouse was the only Bobcat in double figures with 12 kills.
With the win the Bengals improved to 15-6 on the season overall and 5-3 in Big Sky Conference play. Montana State fell to 13-7, 4-4. ISU will host Montana on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. at Reed Gymnasium in a Big Sky Conference matchup. ISU defeated Montana in three games earlier this season in Missoula.
