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SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Idaho State volleyball team fell to Sacramento State in four sets Thursday evening at The Nest in Sacramento, Calif. The Hornets bested the Bengals 25-23, 25-21, 19-25 and 25-21 and dealt the Bengals their second loss in the last 12 matches.
Junior outside hitter
Chloe Hirst delivered her sixth match with 20 or more kills as she finished with a match-high 25 kills to go along with 18 digs. Sophomore outside hitter
Abby Jensen also finished with a double-double with 16 kills and 12 digs, while senior setter
Hayley Farrer delivered her 18th double-double of the season with 51 assists and 16 digs. Defensively, freshman
Haylie Keck carried the Bengals with a match-high 33 digs, smashing the ISU single season digs record in the process.
In a match that featured 18 tied scores and six lead changes, Idaho State (15-13, 10-5 BSC) kept things close with its defense as it dug 97 Hornet attempts throughout the match. Yet the Bengals were unable to terminate consistently, hitting .189 for the match with 27 errors. Sacramento State (18-11, 12-3 BSC) converted 56 of 183 attempts with just 14 errors to hit .230 for the match.
In the first set, Sacramento State took the early 13-7 lead behind multiple Bengal errors, but Idaho State came roaring back and put together a 9-3 run to tie the set 15-all. The two squads traded kills until a Hornet attacking error gave the Bengals a brief 17-16 lead. Two consecutive Sac State kills gave the Hornets the advantage once more at 18-17, but Idaho State couple kills with Hornet hitting errors to take a 22-20 lead. Two-straight Bengal hitting errors tied the match once more, and Sac State finished on a 3-1 run to take the set 25-23.
In the second set, Sac State once again saw the early advantage 12-7. Idaho State slowly chipped away at the Hornet lead to tie the set 19-all following a big kill from junior outside hitter
Marissa Todd. But a subsequent ISU hitting error and two-straight Sac State kills courtesy of Courtney Dietrich gave the Hornets a 22-19 lead. Idaho State was unable to close the gap and Sac State went on to take the second set 25-21.
Coming out of the break, the Bengals connected on 19 kills off 41 attempts with seven errors to hit .293. Todd and Hirst fueled ISU's offensive outbreak in the third set, as Todd hit .625 for six kills while Hirst connected on 8 kills hitting .412. Idaho State raced out to a 5-0 lead and never trailed in the third, cruising to the 25-19 win.
In the fourth set Sacramento State kept the Bengals at bay for the entirety of the match. The Hornets took the early 8-3 lead and maintained the advantage for the remainder of the set. Idaho State cut the lead to one, 16-15 following a 4-2 Bengal run fueled by four-straight ISU kills. Yet ISU could not catch the Hornets as Sac State pushed for a 4-1 closing run to claim the 25-21 four set victory and the 3-1 match win.
Shannon Boyle led the Hornets with 14 kills and 15 digs, while Lexie Skalbeck finished with a team-high 30 digs.
Idaho State concludes the regular season Saturday, Nov. 12 at Portland State. The match is set to begin at 8 p.m. MST.
NOTES
- Freshman libero Haylie Keck broke the single-season digs record with her second dig of the match. With her 33 digs, she now has 544 season digs, 32 more than the previous record of 512 set by Kylee Sessions in 2012.
- Junior outside hitter Chloe Hirst recorded her sixth match with at least 20 kills. Her 25 kills and 18 digs mark her 12th double-double of the season.
- Senior setter Hayley Farrer continues to move up on ISU career digs list. Her 16 digs gives her 1,203 career digs, good for eighth all time in ISU history. She also now sits alone in fourth place in career matches played with 132.
