Oct. 15, 2005
Box Score
Pocatello, ID--Playing without its kills and digs leader Felice Yocopis, Idaho State dropped its fourth-straight match Saturday night, falling 3-0 to Montana State.
Idaho State dropped three straight games to the Bobcats, 21-30, 23-30, and 19-30. The loss drops the Bengals to 8-13 overall, 2-5 in Big Sky play. Montana State improves to 9-11 overall, 3-4 in league play.
"We were short-handed tonight," said ISU head coach Mike Welch. "Our players had to play positions that they just don't practice, and it hurt us. Felice is our only senior and obviously its going to hurt us when she is not with us. However, we started three freshmen, and for them to get this much experience is invaluable."
Nikki Havens led the Bengal effort with a team-high nine kills on 26 attacks. Bri Beal added six kills, while Jessica Gurney helped with four. Katie Hurst led the defensive effort with a team-high 12 digs, while Blakely Peppinger added 11.
Amanda Bevens led the offensive effort with 15 assists. She also notched seven digs, three kills, and two blocks.
The Bengals connected on 31 kills with 27 errors for a .030 hitting percentage while Montana State connected on 53 kills with 20 errors.
Kim Stonehouse led Montana State with a 15-kill, nine-dig effort. Meggie Malyurek tallied 14 kills, while Raelene Purnell recorded 11.
Idaho State now heads out on the road for three straight before returning home again. The Bengals will travel to Eastern Washington to take on the Eagles on Oct. 20. The next home match for ISU will be Nov. 4 against Sacramento State.
"We've had the injury bug over our last four matches," Welch said. "Before that we were playing great volleyball. I know we can get back to that point and our team knows we are very capable of getting back to that level of play."
