ISU Heads South For Final Regular-Season Conference Match

Women's Volleyball | 11/13/2015 1:29:00 PM

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POCATELLO, Idaho – The Idaho State volleyball team is heading south for its final regular-season conference match as the Bengals travel just over the state line to Ogden, Utah to face Weber State Saturday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. ISU must win Saturday's match in order to secure the second-seed and first-round bye at next week's Big Sky Championships in Flagstaff, Ariz.

ABOUT WEBER STATE
This will be the 85th meeting between Idaho State and Weber State. The Bengals have not lost to the Wildcats since Oct. 27, 2011 and have swept the Wildcats 3-0 in the last four meetings.

Weber State returns eight letter winners and six starters from last year's team that finished tied for 11th in the Big Sky Conference with a 7-24 overall record and a 3-13 mark in conference. Currently, the Wildcats are 5-21 on the season with a 1-13 mark in conference play with their lone win coming at Montana on Sept. 23 with a 3-1 final decision.

Weber State is averaging 10.8 kills per set with a .164 hitting percentage in addition to 10.2 assists per set. The Wildcats average 12.3 digs per set and have 243.0 total blocks on the season for a 2.6 blocks per set average.

Head Coach Jeremiah Larsen is in his first year with Weber State.

LAST MATCH: BENGALS DEFEAT GRIZ IN STRAIGHT SETS FOR 20TH WIN AND SENIOR NIGHT VICTORY
The Idaho volleyball team closed out its regular-season home schedule in style, defeating the visiting Montana Griz in straight sets for its 20th victory on Senior Night. The Bengals recorded 42 kills with a .309 hitting percentage and cruised to 25-15, 25-21 and 25-20 set wins.

Senior outside hitter Tressa Lyman led the Bengals with 12 kills, while fellow senior Makenzie Filer added eight kills with a .462 hitting percentage to go along with four digs and four blocks. Senior libero Kaitlyn Johnson finished with 16 digs in her final match at Reed Gym.

The Bengals (20-9, 12-3 BSC) started off hot in the first set, racking up 11 kills with a .292 hitting percentage. ISU claimed the first two points of the set and never looked back, capitalizing on five Montana receiving errors and playing solid defense at the net with five total blocks. Montana (7-20, 3-12 BSC) was unable to make much of an offensive push, and the Bengals cruised to the 25-15 first set win.

In the second, ISU again claimed the first point following a block from Filer and junior setter Hayley Farrer, but the Griz responded and capitalized on two consecutive Bengal errors to take the 2-1 lead. The second set was the cliché back-and-forth battle, featuring 12 ties and four lead changes. Neither team led by more than three points until ISU broke a 17-all tie and capped a 5-2 run to claim the largest lead of the set at four, 23-19. ISU finished with two kills from Lyman to counter two Griz kills and took the second, 25-21.

After the break, the back-and-forth play continued, starting with the first point awarded to the Griz following an ISU error. Neither team took a sizable lead until the Bengals broke a 12-all tie and went on a 9-2 run to lead 21-14. Several Griz errors fueled that Bengal run, but ISU strengthened the blow with four kills of its own. The Griz finished the set on a 6-4 run, but ISU was able to handle the push and held on for a 25-21 third set win and the 3-0 sweep for its 20th win of the season.

With the win, the Bengals move back into second place in the South Division following a 3-1 Sacramento State loss at Northern Arizona Thursday evening. With the win, Northern Arizona clinched the regular-season title and the right to host the Big Sky Championships next week in Flagstaff, Ariz.