Box Score PDF
BOZEMAN, Mont. – The Idaho State volleyball team defeated Montana State in four sets, 25-17, 22-25, 25-16 and 25-16 Saturday afternoon in MSU's Shroyer Gym. The Bengals posted a season-best .427 hitting percentage, connecting on 57 of 117 attempts with just seven errors.
Senior setter
Hayley Farrer posted her 10th double-double of the season with a match-high 41 assists to go along with 13 digs. Three Bengals finished with double-figure digs led by junior middle blocker
Marissa Todd with a match-high 17. Every player to take a swing hit at least .250, led by Todd hitting a career-high .536.
"The whole team played at a high level offensively," Head Coach
Rick Reynolds said. "We were able to terminate out of system at a high rate, and it is good to see our team produce in these moments. Hayley distributed the ball really well and put our hitters in good positions to terminate."
In the first set, Montana State (4-11, 2-4 BSC) took the early lead 6-3 until a 6-3 burst from the Bengals tied the set 9-all. From there, Idaho State (8-11, 3-3 BSC) went on a tear and put together a 10-3 run capitalizing on multiple MSU errors coupled with five Bengal kills for the 19-12 advantage. ISU hit .444 in the opening set and cruised to the 25-17 first set win.
Two straight Bobcat errors and a kill from sophomore outside hitter
Abby Jensen gave the Bengals the 3-1 advantage early, but Montana State quickly rebounded to tie the set 3-all. From there, the second set was a battle featuring nine ties and five lead changes as neither squad led by more than three points. A kill from Farrer gave the match its final tie at 19-all, but the Bobcats finished on a 6-3 run to take the second set 25-22.
ISU came out with a vengeance in the third set, connecting on 14 of 27 attempts with just one error for a .481 hitting percentage wile digging nine of MSU's 31 attempts and forcing a .065 hitting percentage for the Bobcats. Two Bobcat attacking errors began the set and gave ISU the early lead which the Bengals never relinquished, cruising to the 25-16 third set win for a 2-1 advantage in the match.
In the fourth and final set, Idaho State claimed the lead early gaining a 5-2 advantage following two straight kills, one from Todd and another from Farrer, forcing a Bobcat timeout. Coming out of the break, the Bengals put together a 10-3 run to lead 15-6. The Bengals continued their offensive attack and kept the Bobcats at bay to earn the 25-16 fourth set win for the 3-1 match win.
"This match was the result of focused training and continuing to believe in ourselves," Reynolds said. "We have plenty to work on to continue to grow to get to the place we know we can be. To see some reward from the training means a lot."
Idaho State returns home for a pair of conference matches Oct. 13 and 15 against Eastern Washington and Weber State. Both matches are set to begin at 7 p.m. in Reed Gym.
NOTES
- ISU's .427 hitting percentage is the highest single-match hitting percentage by a Big Sky team this season. Previously, Idaho had posted the highest four-set single match hitting percentage at .351, set against Tennessee Tech on Sept. 16.
- Marissa Todd's .536 hitting percentage is the best of her career as the junior outside hitter connected on 17-of-28 attempts with just two errors. It smashed her previous career-high of .462, set against Montana on Oct. 5, 2013.
- Hayley Farrer's 10 double-doubles ranks among the top five in the Big Sky Conference. NAU's Lauren Jacobsen leads the conference in double-doubles; the senior outside hitter had 12 heading into this weekend's play.
- Idaho State improves to 39-33 all time against Montana State with the win.
