Sept. 18, 2010
Final Stats
Box Score: Idaho State 2, Northern Colorado 3 
POCATELLO, Idaho - Idaho State falls to 8-4, 1-1 in Big Sky Conference play as the Bengals allowed Northern Colorado to rally back to win the final three sets of the match and improve to 11-3, 2-0 in Big Sky competition. Senior outside hitter Haylee Thompson-Brock led the Bengals with 15 kills and recorded her sixth straight double digit kill performance.
Things were looking very good for the Bengals in the first half of the match. ISU came out and took the first set 25-20 and then fought back from a five-point deficit to win the second set 27-29.
"I thought that in the first two matches, our ball control was pretty good," Idaho State Head Coach Chad Teichert said. "We hit the ball a lot. Maybe we didn't hit great, but we hit it pretty well especially in game one. We were in the game and we played real hard."
However, the Bengals came out flat in the third set and Northern Colorado seized the opportunity winning the game 25-18. Idaho State struggled in the fourth set but was able to bring the score to within two at 13-15 before allowing Northern Colorado to go on a 10-point rally to capture the set 25-13. The final set was a back-and-forth battle but Northern Colorado eventually pulled away to win 15-11, winning the match and improving to 2-0 in conference match-ups.
"I think Northern Colorado starting serving and hitting the ball better and harder," Teichert said. "They had Kelly Arnold putting the ball in different places and we just couldn't stop her. Ashley Lichtenberg was just as tough as could be and Julie Stephenson was also on her game. The fact that they were on their game and kept attacking, that made a difference."
Freshman setter Lori Mendenhall recorded a double-double against the Bears with 43 assists and 11 digs on the night. Senior middle blocker Britta Bartschi-Rhodehouse posted double digit kills with 12 off of 32 attempts. Senior libero Jenna Proost led the Bengals defensively with 14 digs while junior outside hitter Jaclyn Hone picked up 12. Idaho State had a total of five team blocks led by freshman outside hitter Jennika Wright and Hone with both players notching three assisted blocks on the evening.
Northern Colorado's outside hitter Ashley Lichtenberg had a game-high 28 kills off of 45 attempts for a kill percentage of .533. Setter Natalie LaBand had 52 assists while she and libero Amanda Arterburn led the Bears with 17 digs a piece. Northern Colorado had 13 team blocks for the night led by outside hitter Kelly Arnold who had seven assisted blocks.
Idaho State volleyball will travel to Cheney, Wash., next week to face Eastern Washington Friday, Sept. 24 followed by a match-up against Portland State Saturday, Sept. 25 in Portland, Ore.
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