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POCATELLO, Idaho – Idaho State volleyball opened conference play with a 3-1 win over Northern Arizona Friday night. The contest was also ISU's first home game of the season and the Bengals defended their court at Reed Gym, downing the Lumberjacks in four sets 25-10, 23-25, 25-21, 25-21. Idaho State is now on a six-match win streak, the longest win streak for the Bengals since the 1991 season.
“It's nice to be on a win streak but I think you have to just play to the next point,” ISU Head Coach Chad Tiechert said. “Sometimes streaks come. To me it is far more important that we played pretty good volleyball tonight. That was a pretty good team that came in at 8-1. They have some pretty good players. They pass well, dig balls well and they can hit the ball. I thought we really competed.”
Senior outside hitter
Breanne Van Every led Idaho State with a match-high 23 kills, one kill shy of her career best. Van Every also posted a .444 attack percentage. She had one service ace, five digs and one block.
“Twenty-three kills with only three errors and 45 swings is very good,” Teichert said. “I was thinking about when she was a freshman and how much she has improved at the attack. It's very impressive. I like a girl that comes in and works as hard as she has worked and continues to try and get better.”
Junior setter Lori Mendenhall recorded a double-double with a career-high 62 assists and 12 digs. Mendenhall also recorded two kills and four blocks.
“The thing about Lori is that about half of those digs were tremendous hustle plays,” Teichert said. “And when she's working that hard it forces the rest of the team to work a little harder too. She just makes some phenomenal plays as a result of extreme hustle and some good volleyball savvy. “
Redshirt senior middle blocker
Jaclyn Hone-Hawkins also recorded a double-double during the contest with 12 kills and 10 digs. She also posted one assist and four blocks.
Redshirt freshman outside hitter
Tressa Lyman continued to record double-figure kills with 18 against NAU.
Overall, Idaho State boasted a .387 attack percentage to NAU's .286. The Bengals out-blocked NAU 10-6 and recorded 71 total kills to the Lumberjacks' 55.
The Bengals improved to 7-3 and 1-0 in conference action while NAU fell to 8-2 overall and 0-1 in Big Sky play.
Idaho State returns to the court at Reed Gym Saturday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m. to take on Big Sky newcomer Southern Utah.
We Are Your Bengals
