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POCATELLO, Idaho - Freshman Alydia Fields posted a season-high and match-high 18 kills while hitting a .483 attack percentage in Idaho State's 3-1 victory over Weber State in the Bengals home opener.
Idaho State took the first two sets before struggling on the attack in the third, but ISU rebounded and took the fourth set with a commanding performance. The Bengals won 25-21, 25-15, 21-25, 25-16. The Bengals improved to 7-6 for the season and 2-1 in Big Sky play while Weber State dropped to 0-14 for the season and 0-3 in Big Sky play.
"I like the fact that I thought our girls played pretty well," said Head Coach
Chad Teichert. "I wish we wouldn't have had the let down in game three and though Weber hasn't had a win yet this year they aren't so bad. They've got some kids who can hit the ball and they hustle really well. They worked hard to stay in the game. I'm glad Alydia Fields had a rock star night."
Fields, who played both on the rightside and outside during the match, had 18 kills from a match-high 29 attempts with just four errors for the .483 attack percentage. She notched eight of her kills in the second set alone and helped finish the match for the Bengals with six kills in the fourth set.
"She's pretty good. That's the Aldyia that we recruited. It took awhile to get going but tonight she was remarkable. There might not be 20 volleyball players in America that will have that kind of performance tonight out of all the hundreds and hundreds that are playing. I don't expect her to have that kind of performance every match, it was just a great match for her," said Teichert.
Junior outside hitter
Breanne Van Every notched a double-figure in kills as well with 16 adding to the outstanding Bengal offense that shined in the second and fourth sets. The Bengals posted a match-high .382 attack percentage in the second set. They struggled offensively in the third with a match-low -.033 hitting percentage in the third but regained their composure for a .333 attack percentage in the four set. Idaho State hit a .195 attack percentage for the match.
The Bengals dominated play keeping Weber State's individual players from posting any double-figures in kills or in digs. However, both teams put up eight total team blocks. Idaho State's
Vanessa Muir and Weber State's Ashley Orr each had a match-high four block assists.
Redshirt freshman libero Kylee Searle had a match-high 17 digs while defensive specialist
Katie Grajewski chippped in 11 digs. Sophomore setter Lori Mendenhall ended her five-game double-double streak with a game-high 45 assist and six dig performance.
"She was smart enough to set Alydia a lot and put up good sets," said Teichert of Mendenhall's performance though falling short of the double-double. "She did a good job."
With less than 24 hours on the clock before Idaho State returns to Reed Gym to host Utah Valley on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 2 p.m. Teichert said to the Bengals, "get to bed and be ready for tomorrow."
"We Are Your Bengals"
