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BENGAL OVERVIEW
Idaho State volleyball (6-3) hosts its season home and conference opener this weekend. The Bengals play Northern Arizona in the first conference match-up of the season Friday, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. ISU continues the conference action with a home contest against Big Sky newcomer Southern Utah Saturday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m. Live stats and audio for the weekend's matches will be available at
www.isubengals.com. Play-by-play with
Matt Steuart and Kade Vance will be broadcast on KISU 91.1 FM.
ABOUT IDAHO STATE
The Bengals are 6-3 on the season after defeating St. Francis College, Fairleigh Dickinson and St. John's at the Keiser Classic hosted by St. John's last weekend. Senior outside hitter
Breanne Van Every leads the Bengals in kills, averaging 3.33 kills per set. Junior setter Lori Mendenhall leads the assist effort with 353 assists and is fourth in the conference, averaging 10.70 assists per set. Redshirt senior
Jaclyn Hone-Hawkins leads in blocks with 22 this season while redshirt sophomore Kylee Searle leads in digs with 3.64. Searle and Van Every led ISU in service aces with 11.
As a team the Bengals are leading the conference in hitting percentage (.268). Idaho State is No. 2 in kills, averaging 13.79 per set and is tied for second with NAU in assists with 12.88 per set.
LAST WEEK IN BENGAL VOLLEYBALL
Last week, Idaho State won the Keiser Classic hosted by St. John's. The Bengals went 3-0 over the weekend defeating St. Francis College (3-0), Fairleigh Dickinson (3-0) and St. John's (3-1). Junior setter Lori Mendenhall was named tournament MVP and redshirt senior outside hitter
Jaclyn Hone-Hawkins was named to the Keiser Classic All-Tournament team.
CUSH YOUR TUSH
Friday's match against Northern Arizona will be “Cush your Tush” night. The first 100 fans through the door at Reed Gym will recieve a free seat cushion.
BENGALS ON A ROLL
Idaho State is currently on a five-match win streak. The last time ISU won five straight was in 2010. The streak stretched from Oct. 30 to Nov. 19 with wins against Northern Arizona, Texas Pan American, Sacramento State, Weber State and Montana State. If ISU defeats Northern Arizona Friday night, the Bengals will be on their longest win streak since the 1991 season when ISU won seven straight.
MENDENHALL NAMED TOURNAMENT MVP, BIG SKY POTW
After leading the Bengals to a Keiser Classic title, junior setter Lori Mendenhall was named Keiser Classic MVP. Mendenhall led the Bengals with 121 assists, averaging 12.10 pet set. She also recorded 11 kills, 21 digs, two service aces and three total blocks at the tournament. Against St. John's she posted a double-double with 47 assists and 12 digs. Her performance also earned her co-Big Sky Player of the Week honors.
HONE-HAWKINS NAMED ALL-TOURNAMENT
Redshirt senior
Jaclyn Hone-Hawkins earned her first all-tournament honors this season after being named to the Keiser Classic All-Tournament team. At the tournament, Hone-Hawkins posted 27 kills and a .442 attack percentage. She also recorded five digs, one assist and six blocks.
VAN EVERY NAMED TO SECOND ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Senior outside hitter
Breanne Van Every has earned all-tournament honors at the Nike Portland Invitational and El Paso Sports Commission Invitational. Van Every led the Bengals at the El Paso Sports Commission Invitational averaging 3.09 kills per set and 3.55 digs per set. She also tallied two service aces, three blocks and four assists. At the Nike Portland Invitational, Van Every led the Bengals with 46 kills. She also recorded 20 digs, three service aces and four blocks.
Van Every has been named to two all-tournament teams this season. In 2011, Van Every was named to the all-tournament teams for the Utah State Tournament and UniWyo Cowgirl Classic.
ABOUT NORTHERN ARIZONA
Northern Arizona is 8-1 on the season and 2-1 on the road. Kelli Dallman leads in kills, averaging 3.73 per set while Sydney Kemper is NAU's top blocker with 37 total. Kemper also leads the conference in hitting percentage (.384). Anna Gott leads the dig effort, averaging 4.58 per set while Kalee Kirbee is the top digger with 10.97 per set. As a team, the Lumberjacks are No. 2 in the conference in hitting percentage (.268) and No. 3 in blocks (.242).
SERIES INFO AND LAST MEETING WITH LUMBERJACKS
Idaho State leads the series with NAU 32-26 and ISU is currently on a six-match winning streak against the Lumberjacks. Idaho State won the last meeting 3-0 Nov. 12, 2011 at home in Pocatello. ISU last dropped a match to NAU on Nov. 15, 2008 in a 3-0 decision at Flagstaff.
ABOUT SOUTHERN UTAH
Southern Utah is 3-7 on the season and 1-2 on the road. Gabi Mirand leads the Thunderbirds in assists, averaging 8.59 per set. Mirand also leads her team and the conference in service aces with 18 total on the season. Analaine Mailoto is the top attacker and digger for SUU, averaging 3.70 kills and 2.36 digs per set. Southern Utah is second in the conference in service aces, averaging 1.54 per set.
SERIES INFO AND LAST MEETING WITH THE THUNDERBIRDS
This is just the fourth meeting with conference newcomer Southern Utah. SUU leads the all-time series 2-1. The Bengals won the last meeting on Nov. 7, 1988 in a 3-0 decision at ISU. The last time the two squads met, Southern Utah was still known as Southern Utah State College.
We Are Your Bengals
