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BENGAL OVERVIEW
Idaho State volleyball (10-3, 4-0 BSC) is currently tied for first in the Big Sky Conference and travels to Montana State (8-4, 2-2 BSC) and Montana (3-10, 1-3) this weekend. The Bengals play Montana State Friday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. in Bozeman, Mont., and Montana Saturday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. in Missoula, Mont. Live stats and video for the weekend's matches will be available at each opposing team's athletic website.
ABOUT IDAHO STATE
The Bengals are 10-3 overall and 4-0 in conference play on the season after defeating defending Big Sky Champion Northern Colorado and North Dakota last weekend. Senior outside hitter
Breanne Van Every leads the Bengals in kills, averaging 343 per set. Junior setter Lori Mendenhall leads the assist effort with 549 assists and is second in the conference, averaging 11.20 assists per set. Redshirt senior
Jaclyn Hone-Hawkins leads ISU in blocks with 44 this season while redshirt sophomore Kylee Searle leads in digs with 3.55 per set. Van Every leads ISU in service aces with 17.
As a team the Bengals are leading the conference in hitting percentage (.264), assists (13.20) and kills (14.14). ISU is second in the conference in service aces, averaging 1.49 per set.
Nationally, the Bengals are ranked 24th in hitting percentage and 36th in assists per set. Individually, Lori Mendenhall is 34th in the nation in assists per set.
LAST WEEK IN BENGAL VOLLEYBALL
Last week, ISU defeated defending Big Sky Champion Northern Colorado in a dramatic 3-2 comeback. ISU trailed the Bears 2-0 and came back to take the final three sets for the win. ISU also defeated Big Sky newcomer North Dakota 3-1 Saturday night. The Bengals extended their win streak to nine with the two victories, the longest win streak for the program since 1989.
BENGALS ON A ROLL
Idaho State is currently on a nine-match win streak. The last time ISU won nine straight was in 1989,when the Bengals won 10 straight beginning Sept. 7 against Bradley through Sept. 16 with a 3-0 win over Utah at the BYU Tournament. If the Bengals extend the win streak to 11 this weekend, it will be the longest winning streak since 1987. That same season, ISU set the school record for 17 straight victories.
LYMAN NAMED CO-BIG SKY PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Redshirt freshman outside hitter
Tressa Lyman has been named co-Big Sky Player of the Week with Portland State's Megan Ellis. The honor marks three straight POTW nods for Idaho State this season after Lori Mendenhall was named co-Player of the Week last week (9/17) and the week prior (9/10).
Overall, Lyman tabbed 26 kills, three service aces, three assists, 29 digs and nine blocks over the weekend helping ISU remain undefeated in conference play and extend the team's win streak to nine, the longest streak since the 1989 season.
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 549 total assists as well as 43 kills, nine service aces, 113 digs and 24 blocks.
VAN EVERY NAMED SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATE
Senior outside hitter
Breanne Van Every has been selected as a candidate for the 2012 Senior CLASS Award. Van Every is 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.
Van Every currently leads ISU with 168 kills this season, averaging 3.43 per set. She also has a team-high 17 service aces as well as 14 assists, 104 digs and 20 blocks.
Van Every has been named to two all-tournament teams this season, the El Paso Sports Commission Invitational and Nike Portland Invitational. In 2011, Van Every was named to the all-tournament teams for the Utah State Tournament and UniWyo Cowgirl Classic.
ABOUT MONTANA STATE
Montana State is 8-4 overall and 2-2 in conference play. The Bobcats are 1-1 at home and are currently on a one-game losing streak after falling 3-1 to Portland State. Sarah Horton leads in kills, averaging 3.76 per set. Jennifer Lundquist leads the assist effort with 10.06 per set while Taylar Barney leads the Bobcats in blocks with 51 this season. Nicole Baker leads MSU in digs, averaging 3.56 per set as well as in service aces with 20.
SERIES INFO AND LAST MEETING WITH THE BOBCATS
Idaho State leads the series 33-32. The Bobcats won the last meeting 3-1 Nov. 19, 2011 in Bozeman, Mont. The Bobcats have currently won two straight against ISU. The Bengals last defeated MSU Nov. 19, 2010 in Bozeman 3-1.
ABOUT MONTANA
Montana is 3-10 overall and 1-3 in conference play after defeating Eastern Washington 3-0. The Griz is 2-3 at home this season. Kayla Reno leads UM in kills, averaging 3.14 per set while Megan Murphy leads in digs with 3.27 per set. Kortney James leads the assist effort with 8.65 per set. Brooke Bray leads the conference in blocks with 70 on the season.
SERIES INFO AND LAST MEETING WITH THE GRIZ
Montana leads the series 41-27. The Griz won the last meting 3-2 Nov. 18, 2011 in Missoula. Idaho State won the contest before that 3-1 in Pocatello on Oct. 8, 2011.
We Are Your Bengals
