Bengals Prep for Saturday Match Against Portland State

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POCATELLO, Idaho – The Idaho State volleyball team looks to protect its perfect 3-0 conference record as it faces Portland State (5-10, 1-2 BSC) Saturday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. at Reed Gym.  Eastern Washington is the only other unbeaten team in the BSC, as the Eagles defeated Southern Utah 3-1 on the road Thursday night in Cedar City, Utah.

LAST MATCH: ISU DOWNS SAC STATE IN FOUR TO REMAIN UNBEATEN IN BSC PLAY
Heading into Thursday evening's match, both Idaho State and Sacramento State were undefeated in Big Sky play, but the Bengals eliminated the Hornets in four sets, 25-15, 17-25, 25-16 and 25-21 to remain unbeaten in BSC play.
 
ISU (11-6, 3-0 BSC) was led by senior outside hitter Tressa Lyman with a team-high 17 kills and 12 digs for her ninth double-double of the season. Fellow senior middle blocker Makenzie Filer came up big for the Bengals with 11 kills and five blocks.

In front of more than 500 people, ISU cruised to a 25-15 first set win. The Hornets (15-3, 2-1 BSC) struggled at the net with a .000 hitting percentage while the Bengals excelled with 13 kills off a .333 hitting percentage.

However, Sacramento State shifted the momentum in the second set. The Bengals started on top with a small two-point lead, 5-3. Neither team was able to build much separation until Sac State broke a 9-all tie following an ISU error. The Hornets slowly built a three-point lead, 15-12, but ISU quickly closed the gap to one point following a kill from Filer and a few Hornet errors. Sac State responded and finished the set on a 10-3 run to claim the second 25-17 and even the match 1-1 heading into the break.

In the third set, ISU claimed the early lead and never trailed. Fueled by six kills and three blocks from Filer, the Bengals registered a .364 hitting percentage and limited the Hornets to a .054 hitting percentage. ISU finished the third set on a 12-5 run to claim the set win, 25-16.

The fourth set featured four lead changes and 11 ties in a back-and-forth set in which neither team led by more than four points. The Bengals featured a balanced attack in the fourth, with six players registering kills and five players notching two or more kills. Once ISU broke a 21-all tie off a kill by Lyman, the Bengals scored three straight to claim the set 25-21 and win the match 3-1.

ABOUT PORTLAND STATE
This will be the 53rd meeting between Idaho State and Portland State. ISU has won the last three meetings against the Vikings including a 3-1 win in the last meeting on Nov. 6, 2014.
 
Portland State returns four letterwinners and two starters from last year's team that finished with a 9-20 overall record and a 7-9 mark in conference play, good for sixth place and a trip to the Big Sky conference tournament.

Currently, PSU averages 12.1 kills per set with a .177 hitting percentage and 11.1 assists per set. The Vikings average 12.7 digs per set and have 114.5 total blocks on the season for a 2.0 blocks per set average.

The Vikings are coached by Head Coach Michael Seeman who is in his ninth year with Portland State. Seeman carries a157-99 overall record with a 5-10 overall record and a 1-2 mark in conference play this season.