Game Notes: Utah State Invitational
BENGAL OVERVIEW
Idaho State (1-3) travels to Logan, Utah to compete in the Utah State Invitational at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum Thursday to play three non-conference matches in three days. The Bengals face tournament host Utah State (1-2) on Thursday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. On Friday, Sept. 2, ISU plays Texas State (2-1) at 5 p.m. followed by a match against Syracuse (3-0) on Saturday, Sept. 3 at 5 p.m.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Bengal fans can follow the action of the Utah State Invitational through live stats via game tracker and live video webstreaming at a cost, all available at www.isubengals.com.
LAST WEEK IN BENGAL VOLLEYBALL...
Idaho State posted a 1-3 record at the Tiger Invitational hosted by Missouri in the Bengals season opening weekend. ISU defeated Binghamton 3-0 but fell 3-0 to Tulane, Missouri and North Dakota State. Redshirt Freshman
Danielle Downs earned her first all-tournament team honor.
REDSHIRT FRESHMAN STAND-OUT: DANIELLE DOWNS
Redshirt freshman
Danielle Downs earned her first all-tournament team honor at the Tiger Invitational recording 35 kills averaging 2.92 per set. Over four matches she posted a .250 attack percentage. Downs led the Bengals in kills against Missouri, Binghamton and North Dakota State. The outside hitter tied junior
Breanne Van Every with eight kills against Mizzou and 13 kills against Binghamton. She led ISU with 11 kills against North Dakota State. Downs posted a .478 attack percentage against Binghamton and a .450 attack percentage against the Bison. Over the tournament, Downs averaged 1.83 digs per set for a total of 22 over four games. She also had three blocks and one assist.
SETTERS BATTLE FOR POSITION
With two strong setters in senior
Karissa Legaux and sophomore Lori Mendenhall the Bengals are battling for their time on the court. Mendenhall has taken a front running playing in eight sets to Legaux's four. Mendenhall recorded 68 assists, 8.50 per set, over the Tiger Invitational while Legaux notched 30, 7.50 per set. However, in four sets Legaux notched nine digs, 2.25 per set, while Mendenhall in twice as many sets posted just two more digs than the senior averaging 1.75 per set.
VAN EVERY TRANSITIONS EASILY TO FRONT ROW
Van Every spent most of her time in a defensive roll last season recording 232 digs and just 66 kills. In ISU's first tournament, the Tiger Invitational, the junior led the Bengals with 40 kills averaging 3.33 per set. She also posted 19 digs and four blocks. Van Every posted a game-high 12 kills hitting a .312 attack percentage against Tulane in ISU's first match of the season. She then tied teammate
Danielle Downs with eight kills against Missouri and 13 kills against Binghamton to lead the Bengals. She notched the second most kills, with seven, against North Dakota State.
SERIES INFO/LAST MEETING AND SCOUTING UTAH STATE
Idaho State leads the series 27-23 with Utah State capturing eight of the last nine matches. In their last meeting, Utah State defeated the Bengals 3-0 on 9/9/09. Utah State is 1-2 for the season defeating Drake in three sets. USU fell to Pacific, 3-0 and Southern Utah 3-2. The Aggies are led by Liz McArthur and Shay Sorensen with 35 and 25 kills respectively. Kassi Hargrove leads the team with 9.38 assists per set and Laurel Bodily has notched the most digs with 49.
SCOUTING TEXAS STATE
It is the first meeting between Texas State and the Bengals. TSU owns a 2-1 record heading into the Utah State tournament and already has seven players in double-figure kills after three matches. Texas State defeated Alabama State (3-1) and Austin Peay (3-1) to open the season and are coming off a five set loss to Alabama. Melissa Toth leads the Bobcats with 33 kills averaging three per set. Caleig McCorquodale leads the team in assists with 95 while Laura Whalen leads the team in digs with 48.
SCOUTING SYRACUSE
Syracuse is undefeated with a 3-0 record coming into the tournament having defeated Sacred Heart (3-0), Youngstown State (3-2) and Siena (3-0) all at home. It is the first meeting between Syracuse and Idaho State. Syracuse is led in kills by Noemie Lefebvre with 44, averaging 4.40 per set and notching a .224 attack percentage. Laura Homann leads the team with 110 assists, averaging 10 per set. Ashley Williams leads the team with 5.64 digs per set.
"We Are Your Bengals"
