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MISSOULA, Mont. – The Idaho State volleyball team cruised to a four-set victory Thursday evening, defeating Montana 17-25, 25-17, 25-16 and 25-20. The Bengals hit .207 for the match and finished with nearly 20 more kills than the Griz with a 57-38 edge.
Junior outside hitter
Chloe Hirst led the Bengals with a career-high 24 kills hitting .440 in addition to 12 digs for her eighth double-double of the season. Senior setter
Hayley Farrer also finished with a double-double for the Bengals with a match-high 50 assists and 15 digs. Sophomore
Abby Jensen rounded out the double-double performers for ISU, finishing with 14 kills and 13 digs.
"I am really proud of the effort tonight," Head Coach
Rick Reynolds said. "Both Chloe and Abby were able to get into a rhythm and were able to terminate at a high level. We still have plenty of work to do defensively to get to the level we need to be at the net, but I was pleased with our serve receive and digging ability, which were improved tonight. It's really exciting to get a victory on the road in this type of environment."
Idaho State (7-11, 2-3 BSC) was slow to start, hitting .000 in the first set, while Montana (4-11, 1-4 BSC) connected on 12 of 32 attempts with just three errors for a .281 hitting percentage. The Bengals were the first to strike but 10 ISU hitting errors gave the Griz the obvious advantage. After breaking a 6-6 tie with an ISU hitting error, the Griz took off on a 10-3 tear to put the Bengals behind 15-9. ISU's inability to terminate coupled with UM's hitting percentage gave the Griz the 25-17 first set win.
The Bengals flipped the script in the second set, connecting on 15 of 31 attempts with just four errors for a dominating .355 hitting percentage. The Griz meanwhile struggled to connect, posting just eight kills while hitting .032. ISU claimed the early lead behind two straight kills from Hirst and never looked back, cruising to the 25-17 second set win.
In the third set, the Bengals capitalized on Montana's hitting woes as the Griz hit .054 connecting on just 8 of 37 attempts, while ISU doubled the Griz's kill count with 16. UM claimed the first point following an ISU hitting error, but the Bengals took the lead 2-1 following a kill and service ace from junior
Marissa Todd. Idaho State never relinquished its lead and took the third set 25-16.
The fourth set was a battle with 13 ties and four lead changes, and neither team led by more than two points for the majority of the set. Montana clung to a one-point advantage late in the set at 19-18, but two straight ISU kills and a subsequent UM attacking error gave the Bengals the lift they needed. ISU finished the set on a 4-1 run to claim the 25-20 fourth set victory and the 3-1 match win.
Montana was led by Missy Huddleston with 10 kills, while Sadie Ahearn led the defensive effort with 20 digs, tying match-high honors with ISU's
Haylie Keck.
Idaho State continues its road swing Saturday, Oct. 8 with a 12 p.m. match against Montana State in Bozeman, Mont.
NOTES
- Hirst's .440 hitting percentage is her best of conference play this season and her highest since recording a .500 hitting percentage against Lamar on Sept. 2, which ties her career high.
- Hirst's 24 kills is the best of her career and it marks the third time this season she has finished with 20 or more kills. She recorded 23 kills against Sacramento State on Sept. 24 and at Southern Utah on Oct. 1.
- Farrer's 50 assists brings her career total to 3,276, while her 15 digs gives her 1,064 career digs. Farrer ranks sixth in career assists, and she now ranks 12th all-time in ISU history in digs.
