Regular Season Title on the Line for Bengals this Week

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BENGAL OVERVIEW
Idaho State volleyball (22-5, 16-2 BSC) is in first place in the conference and a regular-season title is on the line for ISU this weekend. This week, Idaho State travels to Eastern Washington (4-25, 4-14 BSC) and second-place Portland State (19-10, 15-3). The Bengals face the Eagles Thursday, Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. MST and the Vikings Saturday, Nov. 17 at 8 p.m.

ABOUT IDAHO STATE
The Bengals are 22-5 overall and 16-2 in conference play on the season after defeating Weber State and Sacramento State last week. Redshirt freshman outside hitter Tressa Lyman leads the Bengals in kills, averaging 3.26 per set. Junior setter Lori Mendenhall leads the assist effort with 1163 assists and leads the conference with 11.40 assists per set. Redshirt senior Jaclyn Hone-Hawkins leads ISU in blocks with 107 this season while redshirt sophomore Kylee Searle leads in digs with 3.53 per set. Senior Breanne Van Every leads ISU in service aces with 30.

As a team, the Bengals are leading the conference in assists (13.19), kills (14.06) and hitting percentage (.254).

Nationally, the Bengals are ranked 32nd in assists per set, 20th in win-loss percentage, 42nd in kills per set, 28th in hitting percentage, 74th in aces per set and 58th in blocks per set. Mendenhall is 21st in the nation individually in assists per set.

REGULAR SEASON TITLE ON THE LINE
The Bengals are currently one-game ahead of Portland State. If ISU wins against Eastern Washington, Idaho State is guaranteed at least a share of the regular season-title. If the Bengals defeat EWU and PSU they win the title outright. If the Bengals lose to EWU they need a PSU loss to Weber State AND to defeat PSU for an outright title.

BENGALS CLINCH SPOT IN POSTSEASON
With at 16-2 Big Sky record and just two regular-season matches left in the 2012 season, ISU has secured a spot in the 2012 Banner Health North Colorado Medical Center Big Sky Volleyball Championship in Greeley, Colo., November 23-24. Depending on this week's performances against Eastern Washington and Portland State, the Bengals will enter the tournament as either a No. 1 or No. 2 seed.

LAST WEEK IN BENGAL VOLLEYBALL
Last week, Idaho State defeated Weber State in Ogden 3-1 before returning home and defeating Sacramento State 3-2 on Senior Night. The Bengals now have 22 wins on the season, tied for the fifth most single-season wins in program history. Redshirt senior Jaclyn Hone-Hawkins recorded her 1,000th career dig against the Wildcats and she as well as three other Bengals recorded double-doubles in ISU's 3-2 win over the Hornets.

A SEASON FOR THE RECORD BOOKS
With a 10-0 home record, the Bengals recorded their first undefeated home campaign since 1987 when head coach Jim Cherniss led the Bengals to a 15-0 record at home. It is just the second time ISU has had an undefeated home season. With 22 total wins, this season is tied for fifth for the most single-season wins in program history. If the team wins two more, this season will be third for most wins in a season with 24. The winningest season was recorded in 1987 when Jim Cherniss led ISU to a 31-5 finish. ISU Head Coach Chad Teichert currently has 44 career Big Sky wins. With wins over EWU and PSU this weekend he would tie Jon Potter's record of 46 (done in five seasons).

HONE-HAWKINS CLOSING IN ON CAREER 1,000s
Redshirt senior Jaclyn Hone-Hawkins has broken the 1,000-point barrier as she has now tallied 1,123.5 points throughout her career. Against Weber State she recorded her 1,000th career dig and now has a grand total to 1,017. She currently has 938 total kills, 62 away from 1,000. To become a member of the triple crown club, a player needs 1,000 points, 1,000 digs and 1,000 kills.

BENGAL STANDOUT: LORI MENDENHALL
So far this season, junior setter Lori Mendenhall has been named Big Sky Player of the Week twice (9/17 and 9/10). After leading ISU to a Kesier Classic title, she was also named tournament MVP. Against NAU (9/14), Mendenhall recorded a career-high 62 assists on her way to a double-double with 12 digs. So far this season she has recorded 1163 total assists as well as 93 kills, 20 service aces, 264 digs and 42 blocks.

VAN EVERY NAMED SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATE
Senior outside hitter Breanne Van Every was selected as a candidate for the 2012 Senior CLASS Award. Van Every was one of 30 candidates selected from Division I teams nationwide. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition. This season Van Every has tallied 305 kills, 30 service aces, 254 digs, 47 blocks and 360 total points.

ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON
Eastern Washington began the season at 0-22 and 0-11 in Big Sky play before winning a pair of matches against Sacramento State (3-0) and Montana (3-0) at home. Eastern Washington also defeated Northern Arizona (3-2) and Southern Utah (3-0) on the road, improving its season record to 4-25 overall and 4-14 in Big Sky play. The Eagles have currently dropped two straight. EWU is led by Cora Kelleran who averages 2.75 kills and 3.18 digs per set. Laney Brown averages a team-high 9.62 assists per set.

SERIES INFO AND LAST MEETING WITH THE EAGLES
Eastern Washington leads the series 39-30 and the Bengals broke a seven-match losing skid to the Eagles earlier this season when ISU defeated EWU 3-0 on October 13 in Pocatello. The last time Idaho State won in Cheney was on Sept. 23, 1995 in a 3-1 decision.  1995 was also the last year ISU swept the Eagles. The Bengals are 10-20 all-time in Cheney, Wash.

ABOUT PORTLAND STATE
Portland State is 19-10 overall and 15-3 in Big Sky action. The Vikings are 8-2 overall at home and have not lost a Big Sky match in the Peter W. Stott Center this season with a perfect 8-0 home record in conference play. The Vikings are currently one game behind Idaho State and need to defeat Weber State and Idaho State this weekend for a share of the regular-season title if the Bengals get a win over Eastern Washington Thursday. PSU is led offensively by Jacklyn Wheeler and Garyn Schlatter. Wheeler averages 3.85 kills while Schlatter has 10.68 assists per set. Defensively, Kasimira Clark leads the Vikings and the Big Sky Conference, averaging 5.37 digs per set. Portland State is first in the conference in service aces (1.43 per set) and digs (17.31 per set).

SERIES INFO AND LAST MEETING WITH THE VIKINGS
Portland State leads the series 29-17 and the Bengals are 6-14 at PSU all-time. The Bengals won the last meeting 3-0 in Pocatello on October 12. ISU's last win in Portland was on Sept. 16, 2011 in a 3-1 decision. If ISU defeats Portland State this weekend, it will be the first time ISU has swept PSU in a season since 2003.