Box Score
POCATELLO, Idaho – Idaho State volleyball made a dramatic comeback Friday night at Reed Gym. Coming out of the locker room after halftime, Idaho State trailed Northern Colorado 2-0. The Bengals then rallied to win the final three sets to defeat the defending Big Sky Conference champions 3-2. The Bengals have now won eight straight matches, the longest win streak for the program since 1989.
“If we would have just sustained our level of energy and focus through the first two sets out to the end we would have made it a lot easier on ourselves,” ISU Head Coach
Chad Teichert said. “In those first two sets we were right there with them and then let them slip away. I think the players made the determination at halftime that they needed to stay with them and fight on every ball. They did a good job coming back and keeping their composure down the stretch. Northern Colorado is a good team, a well-coached team and has a lot of good players.”
Junior setter Lori Mendenhall and redshirt freshman
Tressa Lyman recorded double-doubles during the contest. Mendenhall posted 48 assists with a team-high 18 digs while Lyman posted 14 kills and 15 digs. Lyman also recorded six blocks against the Bears.
Senior
Breanne Van Every led ISU in kills with 16 on the evening. Freshman
Makenzie Filer recorded an impressive .435 attack percentage coming from 13 kills off 23 total attacks with just three errors.
Redshirt sophomore libero Kylee Searle recorded double-figure digs with 17 during the contest. ISU blocked well during the contest. Lyman and redshirt senior middle blocker
Jaclyn Hone-Hawkins each recorded six while Filer had five.
Overall, ISU recorded a .166 attack percentage to Northern Colorado's .191. The Bengals out-blocked the Bears 16-10.
The Bengals dropped the first two sets 25-21 and 25-22 but came out to win the third 25-21. The Bengals decided the fourth set 28-26 and used their momentum to down the Bears 15-11 in the final set.
“You've got to play well to beat Northern Colorado,” Teichert said. “They beat Oklahoma and Oklahoma just beat an extremely good team in Kansas State. For us to have 16 blocks, that's a big deal. I'm not saying that Northern Colorado played their best, but even when they're not playing their best, they're very good. It was very fun to get a win against them here in front of our home crowd.”
The Bengals improve to 9-3 overall and are now leading the way in the conference with a 3-0 record. Northern Colorado falls to 9-3 overall and 2-1 in conference play. Idaho State returns to action against North Dakota Saturday, Sept. 22 at Reed Gym at 7 p.m.
We Are Your Bengals
