ISU Volleyball Opens Season Friday at Utah Classic

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POCATELLO, Idaho – The Idaho State volleyball team opens its season this Friday against No. 23 Utah at 7 p.m. at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. The match is the first of the season for both squads and is part of the Utah Classic that also features the Lipscomb Bisons out of the Atlantic Sun Conference and the CSU Northridge Matadors from the Big West.

The Bengals, who were picked as the favorite to win the Big Sky Conference this season, return six letterwinners from last year's regular season championship team including the reigning Big Sky MVP Tressa Lyman. ISU also returns first team all-Big Sky selection senior middle blocker Makenzie Filer and Big Sky all-tournament team selection junior setter Hayley Farrer for a formidable combo on the court.

After a physically tough and educational preseason with first year Head Coach Rick Reynolds, the Bengals are ready to officially start their season.

"I'm just excited to get started and finally get some games in after all of our practicing," said Lyman. "I always like playing schools that are close to [Idaho State] because there's a kind of rivalry there."

Reynolds had a similar stance on this season's matches. He's excited to see the results of the team's hard work this preseason, but he's also looking forward to facing measuring where they're at as a squad.

"I'm excited to get out on the court," Reynolds said. "I'm excited to see if everything we've done this preseason is going to translate to the court, as well as find out what we need to work on going forward."

The Utah Classic has a set schedule and is not in a tournament format, so that each team has a predetermined opponent for each match and will have the opportunity to play each team once. For ISU, its first match will be against No. 23 Utah on Aug. 28 at 7 p.m., followed by Match Two against Lipscomb at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 29 and it will finish against CSU Northridge at 5 p.m. Saturday evening.

ABOUT UTAH
This will be the 39th meeting between the Bengals and the Utes. Utah leads the series 28-10 and won the last meeting 3-1.
 
No. 23 Utah was picked to finish 10th in the Pac-12, a conference that has a league-record nine teams ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Associated (AVCA) Preseason Coaches poll that was released Wednesday, Aug. 12.
 
The Utes return eight letterwinners including two starters from their 2014 squad that finished 20-13 overall, 9-11 in Pac-12 play. Utah advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season losing to Nebraska 3-2 in the second round.
 
Notable returners include sophomore outside hitter Adora Anae who was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman First Team and senior setter Kendall Cygan who was received a Pac-12 honorable mention nod.
 
Head Coach Beth Launiere enters her 26th season with Utah. During Launiere's tenure, the Utes have recorded a 491-303 overall record and have made 12 NCAA Tournament appearances.

ABOUT LIPSCOMB
This will be the first meeting between ISU and Lipscomb. The Bisons finished the 2014 season at the top of the Atlantic Sun Conference with a 13-1 conference record and a 21-9 overall record.

Lipscomb returns nine letterwinners and six starters from last year's squad that advanced to the first round of the NCAA tournament including all-conference performers senior outside hitter Brittnay Estes, junior setter Kayla Ostrom and senior middle blocker Molly Spitznagle.
 
Head Coach Brandon Rosenthal enters his 13th season with the Bison and carries a 219-152 overall record.
 
ABOUT CSU NORTHRIDGE
This will be the 17th meeting between the Bengals and the Matadors. CSUN leads the all-time series 15-1, winning the last meeting in 2001 3-0.
 
CSUN was picked to finish fourth in the Big West Conference behind Hawaii, Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara. The Matadors return eight letterwinners from last year's squad that finished 19-12 overall, including First-Team All-Big West outside hitter Cieana Stinson. CSUN also returns senior defensive specialist Alia Casino and junior outside hitter Julie Haake.
 
The Matadors are coached by Jeff Stork, who enters his 15th year with CSUN. Stork carries a 169-194 overall record at CSUN including a 91-112 mark in the Big West.
 
Idaho State will be back at home next Tuesday, Sept. 1 for their home opener against Utah Valley University at 6 p.m. in Reed Gym.