Nov. 7, 2006
Box Score
Pocatello, ID--Bri Beal collected 20 digs to push her season total to 491, breaking the single season digs record as Idaho State wrapped up regular season play with a 3-1 (30-32, 30-26, 30-17, 30-28) win over Utah State Tuesday night at Reed Gym.
With the win, Idaho State improves to 10-20 overall while Utah State falls to 12-16 on the season.
"This was a big win for us tonight," said ISU head coach Mike Welch. "We had a lot of confidence coming into this match. We've had some good practices this past week and that transitioned right into tonight's match."
Jessica Gurney recorded her 19 kills on 34 attacks with only four errors for a .441 hitting mark. Katie Hurst and Nikki Havens each tallied 15 kills while Ashlyn McDowell helped with 11. Karli Maughan, Christine Collette, and Emily Waldron rounded out the Bengal attack with three kills each.
Collette set up the ISU offense with a career high 61 assists on the night while collecting 17 digs for her 11th double-double of the season. She also had two service aces and a pair of blocks.
Defensively, Beal led Idaho State with 20 digs on the night. She now has 491 digs this year, which surpasses the all-time single season digs record of 477 set by Ashley VanderBloomen during the 2004 season. Maughan got into double digits with 10 digs.
As a team, Idaho State recorded 69 digs while hitting .196 at the net. The Aggies connected on 54 kills while hitting .158. ISU recorded 71 digs to USU's 66.
Idaho State's three seniors, Havens, Beal, and Maughan were honored prior to the match in a short ceremony.
"Our seniors have each had a tremendous impact on our team," Welch said. "They are the core of our team and show the kind of leadership that we want passed down to our younger players. You have to remember that 10 of our 14 players are either freshman or sophomores. We are young and talented. This group will do a lot of good things in the future."
Idaho State's postseason hopes now hinge on the outcome of other league matches this weekend. The Bengals are still in the hunt for the sixth and final spot in the Big Sky Conference Tournament.
