Sept. 24, 2005
Box Score
Pocatello, ID--Despite double-double efforts by Felice Yocopis and Nikki Havens, Idaho State dropped a 3-2 decision to Eastern Washington Saturday night at Reed Gym.
Idaho State fell to the Eagles, 30-25, 18-30, 34-32, 22-30, and 6-15. With the loss, Idaho State falls to 7-9 overall, 1-1 in Big Sky play. Eastern Washington improves to 8-4 overall, 1-1 in league play.
"I thought we played flat tonight," said ISU head coach Mike Welch. "We're a young team and we need to learn how to remain focused and disciplined to push through these kind of long matches."
The Bengals cruised through game one, building an 8-6 lead before going on a 7-1 run to take a 15-7 lead. ISU then went on to win 30-25. Game two was just the opposite for the Bengals as Eastern Washington built a 17-10 lead and then never let ISU get within five points to take the 30-18 win.
Idaho State rallied from 10-15 deficit to tie game three at 20-20. The two teams then went back-and-forth before Idaho State took a 33-32 lead. The Bengals secured game with a EWU attack error to win the game, 34-32. Eastern Washington built a quick 10-5 lead in game four before going on an 8-1 run to take a 16-7 lead. The Eagles then cruised to the 30-22 win to send the match into a game five.
Eastern Washington dominated game five, building a quick 9-3 lead. The Eagles only allowed three more points to win the game 15-6, securing the match.
"We just played good enough to win two games tonight against a very good Eastern Washington team, but we need to that much better," Welch said. "We missed a lot of opportunities both defensively and offensively."
Yocopis led the Bengals with her 15th double-double of the season with 24 kills and 30 digs. Havens also recorded a double-double with a 16-kill, 11-dig effort.
Amanda Bevens led the offense with a 26-assist effort, while Lisa Bushman helped with 16. Katie Hurst and Bri Beal each tallied double-digit digs with 19 and 13, respectively. Zoe Beltz fronted the Bengals in blocks with six.
As a team, Idaho State recorded an attack percentage of .094, while Eastern Washington connected on .203. The Bengals connected on 55 kills to EWU's 82.
Idaho State will remain at home for an Oct. 1 matchup with cross-state rival Weber State (7-7, 2-0). Opening serve is set for 7 p.m.
