Bengals Open Conference Play at Vikings and Eagles

Bengals Open Conference Play at Vikings and Eagles
Idaho State finished 9-7 during the regular season last year to tie for third place

Idaho State vs. Portland State
Date: Friday, Sept. 16
Time: 8 p.m. MT
Live Stats | Big Sky TV

Idaho State vs. Eastern Washington
Date: Saturday, Sept. 17
Time: 8 p.m. MT
Live Stats | Big Sky TV

Match Notes: vs. Portland State and Eastern Washington

BENGAL OVERVIEW
Idaho State (5-5) rides a three-game winning steak and comes off a tournament title at the UniWyo Cowgirl Classic to open Big Sky Conference play. The Bengals open conference at Portland State (4-8) on Friday, Sept. 16 at the Peter W. Stott Center then travel to Eastern Washington (4-6) on Saturday, Sept. 17 at Reese Court. Both matches begin at 8 p.m.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Bengal fans can follow the action through live stats and a live video webstream provided by BigSkyTV at www.isubengals.com.

LAST WEEK IN BENGAL VOLLEYBALL
Idaho State captured its second UniWyo Cowgirl Classic tournament title defeating Georgia State (3-0), Illinois State (3-2) and Wyoming (3-1). Idaho State won the tournament in 2009 and 2011. The tournament victory also marks ISU's third straight season with a tournament title. Sophomore setter Lori Mendenhall had three straight double-doubles to earn MVP and all-tournament team honors. Breanne Van Every earned her second all-tournament team honors of the season while Kylee Searle earned her first.

ABOUT THE BENGALS
The Bengals are on a three-match win streak bringing their average to .500 at 5-5, before conference play begins. Idaho State is led in kills by junior Breanne Van Every who is averaging 3.08 kills per set followed closely by redshirt freshman Danielle Downs with 2.92 kills per set. Lori Mendenhall, a sophomore, leads the Bengals in assists averaging 9.71 per set. Libero Kylee Searle leads the Bengals in digs with 3.78 per set. Senior middle blocker Vanessa Muir leads Idaho State in blocks with 26 for the season. Both Searle and Muir lead the team with seven service aces. As a team the Bengals average 11.97 kills per set, 11.11 assists per set, 13.25 digs per set and 1.65 blocks per set.

ABOUT PORTLAND STATE AND SERIES INFO
Portland State is 4-8 for the season with a 1-0 record at home having defeated Seattle in five sets. The Vikings are on a seven match losing streak but have played tough opponents including two nationally ranked teams, No. 8 Washington and No. 16 Oregon. Megan Ellis leads the Vikings averaging 3.61 kills per set while ever other Viking is under two kills per set. Garyn Schlatter leads PSU with 7.6 assists per set. Portland State leads the series 28-15 with ISU having captured the last meeting 3-1 at Reed Gym. ISU's victory broke a 10-match losing streak to the Vikings.

ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON AND SERIES INFO
Eastern Washington leads the series 37-29 with the Eagles defeating the Bengals in four sets at Reed Gym in their last meeting. The Eagles are on a five-match winning streak over the Bengals. This season, Eastern Washington is 4-6 overall and is coming off a five set win over Southern Utah to end a three-match losing streak. Cora Kellerman leads EWU averaging 3.08 kills per set. The Eagles are out-blocking their opponents 99.5-to-65.5. They are 0-4 in three set matches and 1-0 at home having overcome Boise State in five sets. Eastern Washington hosts Weber State on Friday, Sept. 16 at 8 p.m. MT.

BENGALS IN THE BIG SKY
Freshman middleblocker Whitney Bartschi posts the fifth best hitting percentage in the league at .242. Breanne Van Every holds the fifth best record for kills per set with 3.08. Lori Mendenhall is third best in the league with 9.71 assist per set. As a team, the Bengals post the third best kill average in the league with 11.97 per set. ISU is fourth in assist with 11.11 per set.

THREE DOUBLE-DOUBLES EARN MENDENHALL AN ARMFUL OF HONORS
It's been a busy week for sophomore Lori Mendenhall whose three straight double-double performances have garnered the setter all-tournament and MVP honors at the UniWyo Cowgirl Classic, Big Sky Player of the Week and Bengal Athlete of the Week. All four honors were Mendenhall's first. A sophomore from Salt Lake City, Utah, led the Bengals to their first tournament title of the season at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic with three straight double-double performances. Mendenhall opened the tournament with back-to-back double-doubles playing Georgia State and Illinois State in the first day of the tournament. Mendenhall had a 34 assist and 11 dig three-set performance against Georgia State, then had 41 assists and 10 digs against Illinois State in a five-set match. The 5-8 setter finished the tournament with a career-high tying 58 assists and a career-high 16 digs against Wyoming in the championship match beating the Cowgirls in four sets. Over the tournament, Mendenhall averaged 11.08 assists per set and 3.08 digs per set. The setter also recorded nine kills with a .389 attack percentage and had seven block assists.

THREE BENGALS EARN ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM HONORS AT UNIWYO COWGIRL CLASSIC
Three Bengals earned all-tournament team honors when they were named to the UniWyo Cowgirl Classic All-Tournament Team after defeating Georgia State, Illinois State and Wyoming to capture the tournament title. Breanne Van Every, Kylee Searle and Lori Mendenhall earned the all-tournament team honors while Mendenhall was also named MVP.

GOING STREAKING
The Bengals are finding their rhythm and putting together solid streaks of top-notch performances. Lori Mendenhall is on a three-match double-double streak while Kylee Searle is on a four-match double-figure dig streak. Breanne Van Every is on a three-match double-figure kill streak.

2010 CONFERENCE PLAY
Idaho State was 9-7 last season tying for third in the league standings. The Bengals swept Northern Arizona, Montana State, and Weber State, and split with Portland State, Montana, and Sacramento State. Northern Colorado and Eastern Washington were the only schools to sweep ISU. ISU fell to the Bears in three five set matches last season including the Bengals quarterfinal match at the Big Sky tournament for the Bengals first appearance since 2005.

BENGALS SUCCESSFUL IN 2010 SEASON
Idaho State posted an overall record of 18-13, Chad Teichert's first winning record as a head coach, and marked ISU's first winning record since 2003 when ISU was 20-9 record. Idaho State finished the regular season 9-7, tying for third in conference play. For the first time since 2005, the Bengals advanced to the Big Sky Conference tournament.