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POCATELLO, Idaho – The Idaho State volleyball team swept Weber State Saturday evening, posting scores of 25-18, 27-25 and 26-24 in the three-set win in Reed Gym. The Bengals forced the Wildcats to hit .146 for the match, well below their season-average of .224, while ISU hit converted 49 of 136 kills with 20 errors to hit .213.
Three Bengals finished with double-doubles led by sophomore outside hitter
Abby Jensen with 11 kills and a team-high 17 digs. Junior middle blocker
Marissa Todd added 11 kills and 10 digs, while senior setter
Hayley Farrer continued her solid play with her 12th double-double of the season posting a match-high 40 assists with 12 digs. Farrer also led the Bengals with a team-high .500 hitting percentage notching eight kills off 14 attempts with just one error.
"It started with effort," Head Coach
Rick Reynolds said. "It started with a willingness to compete. It started with a willingness to be tough. There is a reason Weber State is the best blocking team in our conference, and it showed tonight. When you are playing a team that blocks as well as they do, you have to keep swinging. You have to know that eventually holes will come and that shots will eventually be there. I was proud of the effort and competition; I thought our team competed hard and earned a victory."
Idaho State (10-11, 5-3 BSC) rolled in the first set, racing out to a 5-0 run behind four Bengal kills and a Wildcat error. Weber State (13-4, 4-4 BSC) closed the gap and tied the set four times: 6-all, 7-all, 8-all and 9-all. Two ISU kills and a WSU attacking error gave the Bengals a bit of breathing room with a 12-9 lead, yet they were unable to shake the Wildcats. Idaho State led by one, 17-16 midway through the set but extended its lead to three following a Wildcat service error and an ace from freshman middle blocker
Brooke Pehrson. Idaho State then turned on the burners and put together a 6-2 run, finishing the set with five kills and another service ace from Pehrson to claim the set 25-18.
To start the second set, the Bengals suffered three attacking errors, a service error and a serve-receive error to give Weber State the early five-point lead, 10-5. Both teams matched point-for-point until two WSU kills and an ISU attacking error gave the Wildcats their largest lead of the entire match, 18-10. A subsequent kill from Farrer stopped the bleeding and shifted the momentum in favor of the Bengals.
Idaho State scored seven straight points behind a string of ISU kills and multiple Wildcat errors. Yet ISU was unable to take the lead. With the set tied at 25-all, Hirst stepped up to serve and delivered an ace then followed it up with a brutal kill to give ISU the 27-25 win.
The final set was a battle with 10 ties and three lead changes. Idaho State raced out to the early 7-1 advantage, but a 9-3 Wildcat run tied the set 10-all. WSU inched its way head slowly, converting a kill here and adding a service ace there until the Wildcats led by four, 19-15 with the set win in sight. Once again, the Bengals responded. A kill from Pehrson followed by a WSU attacking error and two back-to-back ISU blocks tied the set 19-all and forced Weber State to call a timeout.
Coming out of the break, Weber State claimed the advantage with a kill from Andrea Hale, yet Farrer snuck a kill to tie the match once more. This back-and-forth play continued; Weber State posted a point and Idaho State would respond to tie the set. A kill from WSU's Megan Thompson gave the Wildcats their first set point of the third set, but a kill from Hirst tied the set at 24-all. WSU suffered an attacking error on the next point, and Hirst followed it up with another monster kill, this time for the set and match win. ISU took the third set 26-24 to sweep the Wildcats 3-0.
"Coverage definitely separates the good teams from great teams, and tonight we were able to cover effectively and it gave us extra opportunities to score," Reynolds said. "It's something we harp on with our team, so I was very proud of their coverage tonight and their ability to transition out of that coverage and find some points."
Idaho State continues its home stand next weeks with matches against North Dakota Friday, Oct. 21 and Northern Colorado Saturday, Oct. 22. Both matches begin at 7 p.m. in Reed Gym.
NOTES
- Farrer's 12 digs gives her 1,101 career digs and bumps her to 11th all-time in ISU history. Farrer still sits in sixth all-time in career assists, but tonight's 40 assists gives her 3,384, 130 assists shy of fifth all-time.
- Hirst passed the 600 career kills mark with the 12 she recorded against Weber State. She now has 602 career kills with 296 coming this season alone.
- With tonight's win, the Bengals are on a five-match winning streak, their longest of the season.
