Sept. 14, 2006
Box Score
Pocatello, ID--Led by Nikki Havens' 19 kills, Idaho State snapped a six-year drought against Eastern Washington, defeating the Eagles 3-1 Thursday night in the Big Sky Conference opener at Reed Gym.
The win snaps a six-year Eastern Washington win streak over the Bengals dating back to the 2000 season. The last ISU win over the Eagles was, ironically enough, a 3-1 victory on Sept. 14, 2000 in Pocatello. That win came during ISU head coach Mike Welch's first season with the Bengals.
Despite dropping the first game of the match 29-31, Idaho State rallied to win three straight (30-25, 34-32, 30-22) to claim the victory. With the win, ISU improves to 5-8 overall, 1-0 in Big Sky play. Eastern Washington falls to 7-3 overall, 0-1 in league play.
"We controlled the tempo of the match from the very first point," said ISU head coach Mike Welch. "Even though we lost that first game, we controlled and led the entire game and even had two game points. Eastern is a good team, be we took control early and it paid off for us."
Havens registered a season-high 19 kills on 41 total attacks with only six errors for a .317 attack percentage. The senior outside hitter also picked up four digs and a pair of blocks.
"Nikki (Havens) showed that senior leadership tonight," Welch said. "She played big tonight and played a very calm and collected match."
Karli Maughan didn't enter the match until the end of the first game, but made an immediate impact. ISU was without a block until Maughan entered the match and registered the Bengals' first block. The senior outside hitter finished the match with a team-high four blocks.
"Karli came in and changed the entire match," Welch said of her performance. "She gave us a huge boost, and the team responded to her play. She does a lot of intangibles for us."
Amanda Bevens led ISU's offensive attack, totaling a season-high 52 assists, just six assists shy of her career high. Bevens also had a season-high three kills and 12 digs for her second double-double of the year.
"Amanda (Bevens) dig a great job tonight," Welch said. "However, she also received a lot of great balls. Our passing was very composed and we sided-out at will tonight."
Katie Hurst and Zoe Beltz helped offensively with 13 kills each while Emily Waldron added 11. Hurst and Waldron each recorded a double-double with 12 and 11 digs, respectively. Bri Beal fronted the team defensively with a team-high 17 digs.
Tonight's game marked a season-high crowd, something that Welch says played a big difference in the outcome of the contest.
"The crowd was very into the match," Welch said. "They were very supportive and made their presence felt. It was very loud, and that plays a major advantage for us. It was nice to see so many people out."
As a team, Idaho State was notable at the net, tallying a .248 attack mark with 68 kills on 165 attacks. The Bengals held Eastern Washington to a .210 hitting percentage with 57 kills. The Bengals had 66 digs to EWU's 54.
Idaho State will continue Big Sky play at home on Saturday when the team welcomes league newcomer Northern Colorado to Reed Gym. Opening serve is set for 7 p.m.
