Volleyball Begins Season at Utah State Invitational

Tournament Central l Notes

POCATELLO, Idaho - The 2013 Big Sky Conference champions return to action at the Utah State Tournament in Logan, Utah, with matches against Utah State (7 p.m. Fri. Aug. 29), St. Mary's (12 p.m. Sat. Aug. 30) and Oregon State (4 p.m. Sat. Aug. 30).  Friday's Match will be live streamed via the Mountain West's digital network at http://www.themwc.com.

On paper it appears that Idaho State is primed for another run with six of seven starters returning but the one senior that graduated was the 2012 Big Sky Player of the Year Lori Mendenhall-Lee. The setter was the first Bengal player to win Player of the Year honors since 1990, and as the setter, the entire Bengal attack ran through her quick hands.

Hayley Farrer steps into the starting setter role but she doesn't lack experience. She started in 34 of 35 match for ISU in 2013 as a defensive specialist.

The rest of the starting lineup is intact. First-team All-Big Sky honoree Tressa Lyman again headlines the Bengal front line. She led Idaho State with 465 kills in 2013, over 100 kills more than any other ISU player.
 
Big Sky Tournament MVP Makenzie Filer enters her junior year and she will look to continue the upward trend in the middle that she showed in the second half of 2013. She averaged over 12 kills per match over the last six matches of the season.
 
Whitney Bartschi-Harrington and Sommer Reeder also bring significant experience in the middle. Both players started in double-digit matches for Idaho State in 2013.
 
On the outside, senior Alydia Fields-Grimm started every ISU match a year ago and sophomore Marissa Todd was a big boost for Idaho State in the second half of the season. Teichert added senior Oregon State transfer Amy Sorensen in the offseason to increase the depth at the position.
 
Senior libero and Big Sky All-Tournament team member Kylee Searle-Sessions returns to anchor the backline for ISU. Searle-Sessions tallied a team-high 447 digs last season.

BENGAL NEWCOMERS
Two incoming freshmen join Sorensen as new additions to the 2014 ISU squad. Highland High School product Ashlyn Van Every followed in her sister Breanne's footsteps to play for the Bengals. The 5-11 freshman will look to make her mark as a setter for the ISU squad.
 
Nicole Breidenbach comes to Idaho State from Skyline High School in Idaho Falls. She will be an outside hitter and defensive specialist for the Bengals.

Sorensen brings experience Pac-12 experience from her time at Oregon State but prior to her time there she was a Second-Team All-American at Snow College.

ABOUT UTAH STATE
The Aggies won 15 of their last 22 matches and registered  a 20-11 overall and 13-7 Mountain West record in 2013.

USU returns its lone all-Mountain West honoree in junior opposite side hitter Elle Brainard, who also earned 2014 Preseason all-MW honors. The
Aggies return four other starters in senior outside hitter Rachel Orr, senior setter Paige Neves, senior middle blocker Kaitlyn VanHoff and senior libero Ashlan Rogers-Court.

Utah State was picked to finish third in the Mountain West.  Grayson DuBose enters his ninth season at Utah State and has a 133-109 career record.

ABOUT SAINT MARYS
The Gaels return four starters from a 2013 team that posted a 18-9 overall and 13-5 West Coast Conference record.  Middle Blocker Madelyn Hutson leads the Gael attack with  2.18 kills and 0.92 blocks per set with a .288 attack percentage.

Rob Browning enters his 10th season as the SMC head coach. He has a career record of 161-90 (.641).

ABOUT OREGON STATE
The Beavers return five starters on a squad that struggled in 2013 going 9-22 overall and 0-20 Pac-12 mark. Lila Toner, led the Beavers last season with a 2.75 kills per set average.

OSU head coach Taras Liskevych enters his 10th season leading the Beavers. He has a career  98-171 (.364) record at Oregon State.