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GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The Idaho State volleyball team clawed its way back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat No. 4 Nortern Colorado 3-2 in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Conference Volleyball Tournament, hosted by North Dakota at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Idaho State dropped the first two sets 21-25 and 15-25 before storming back to win the last three sets 25-21, 25-23 and 18-16.
"I am so proud of how our team persevered," Head Coach
Rick Reynolds said. "They responded and were able to generate pressure and create better opportunities for us offensively."
Three players finished with double-doubles for the Bengals. Junior outside hitter
Chloe Hirst led the offensive effort with a match-high 20 kills with 21 digs, junior middle blocker
Marissa Todd added 12 kills and 11 dig while senior setter
Hayley Farrer finished with 49 assists and 17 digs for her 21st double-double of the season.
It looked like the season might be coming to an end early as Idaho State (16-14) suffered numerous errors in the first two sets while Northern Colorado (18-11) registered 30 kills and hit .210 to cruise to the 25-21 first set win and 25-15 second set victory. For just the ninth time this season, the Bengals faced a 2-0 deficit heading into the break.
Coming out of the break, it looked like UNC was going to run away with it as the Bears started the set on a 3-0 run. The Bengals tied the set 4-all fueled by three UNC errors and a kill from Todd to force a Bears timeout. Northern Colorado responded and went on a 6-2 run to take a commanding 10-6 lead and force the Bengals to take a timeout of their own.
This time, it was Idaho State that responded with a 4-0 run of their own to tie the set once more, this time at 10-all. The two squads traded point-for-point until two kills from sophomore outside hitter
Abby Jensen and a Bears hitting error gave the Bengals a three-point advantage, 18-15. Northern Colorado was unable to close the gap and Idaho State held on to win the third, 25-21.
In the fourth set, Idaho State connected for 13 kills off 40 attempts with just two errors for a .275 hitting percentage, the highest of the match for either team. The Bears claimed the first point with a kill from Kortney Lockey but quickly relinquished the lead to the Bengals as Jensen slammed one down for the sideout. Idaho State outscored UNC 6-2 over the next few plays to force the Northern Colorado timeout.
Coming out of the break, the Bears put together a 6-2 run to tie the set at 9-all; the set was tied once more at 18, but Idaho State continued to terminate when it counted and never led the Bears regain the lead. ISU fought for the fourth set 25-23 win and tied the match 2-all.
In the fifth and final set, the Bengals played from behind the majority of the set. Northern Colorado built a 10-6 lead and had the match win in reach, but ISU refused to quit. A kill from freshman middle blocker
Brooke Pehrson coupled with a UNC receiving error and a Pehrson service ace brought the Bengals within two, 11-9. A Northern Colorado attacking error on the ensuing possession brought ISU within one, 11-10, but two straight UNC points gave the Bears the 13-10 advantage.
Idaho State responded with two-straight kills and capitalized on a UNC setting error to tie the set 13-all. The set was tied three more times at 14, 15 and 16-all; each time the Bengals with match point only to be thwarted by the Bears. Finally, a kill from Hirst followed by a monster block from Pehrson and Farrer gave the Bengals the 18-16 fifth set win and the 3-2 match win.
Northern Colorado was led by Lockey with 19 kills and 20 digs, while Makenna Meier registered a match-high 32 digs and Ashley Guthrie posted a match-high 61 assists.
Idaho State is back in action Friday, Nov. 18 at 6 p.m. MST in the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference Volleyball Tournament. The Bengals will face the winner of the No. 1 North Dakota/No. 8 Idaho match.
NOTES
- Freshman libero Haylie Keck continues to smash the ISU single season digs record. With her 27 digs against Northern Colorado, she now has 587 digs on the season. The previous record was 512 set by Kylee Sessions in 2012.
- Senior setter Hayley Farrer now has 3,785 career assists (fifth all-time in ISU history) and 1,234 digs (eighth all-time in ISU history). She is now five digs shy of moving into seventh all-time.
- Junior outside hitter Chloe Hirst has 439 kills on the season. She now has the record books in sight as she is 16 digs shy of breaking into the top 10 in ISU history for kills in a single season.
- For just the second time this season, the Bengals came back from a 2-0 deficit to win in five sets.
