Sept. 13, 2007
Box Score
Portland, OR--Emily Waldron and Jessica Gurney led Idaho State with seven kills each but Idaho State dropped its Big Sky Conference season opener at Portland State 3-0 (25-30, 17-30, 20-30) Thursday night at the Stott Center in Portland, Oregon.
With the loss, Idaho State falls to 3-8 on the season, 0-1 in league play. Portland State improves to 7-4 overall, 1-0 in Big Sky play.
"We played at a very high level for most of the first game," said ISU head coach Mike Welch. "Late in the game we dropped some points and the mentality carried into game two. Basically, we played in streaks from very good to very poor. Our team demonstrated that we have the skills to compete at the top of the Big Sky, but their game needs to be brought every point."
Idaho State's best game of the match came in the first game as the Bengals connected on 16 kills with just five errors on 41 attacks for a .268 hitting percentage. In game two, ISU managed just a .029 hitting mark with only eight kills. Game three was similar to the first game of the match as the Bengals connected on a .216 percentage with 13 kills and just five errors.
"A consistent team like Portland State will make teams pay when they led down their guard," Welch said. "Kolay (Mickelsen) came in game two and three and ignited our spirit and helped us create some runs on points. She demonstrated the heart that she has to compete."
Mickelsen finished the game with a team-best .385 hitting percentage, connecting on five kills without a single error.
Waldron scored her seven kills on 22 attacks with only two errors for a .227 mark. Gurney's line was similar with seven kills on 21 attacks and just two errors for a .238 attack mark. Ashlyn McDowell helped at the net with six kills, while Sarah Carson, Christine Van Orden , and Mickelsen each had five.
Van Orden led the Bengal offense with 29 assists and was just one dig shy of a double-double. Katie Edgson fronted the Bengal defense with a team-high 11 digs.
Idaho State will continue Big Sky play at Eastern Washington on Saturday. Opening serve is set for 8 p.m. (MST).
