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POCATELLO, Idaho – The Idaho State volleyball team rebounded from a dismal first set to defeat visiting Southern Utah in four sets Thursday evening at Reed Gym. The Bengals hit just .045 in the first set as the Thunderbirds cruised to the 25-18 win, but ISU responded with 49 kills over the final three sets to down SUU 25-20, 25-20 and 25-19.
Three Bengals finished with double-digit kills led by junior outside hitter
Chloe Hirst with 21 hitting a team-high .302. Sophomore outside hitter
Abby Jensen added 11 kills while freshman middle blocker
Brooke Pehrson added 10 kills and a team-high six blocks. Senior setter
Hayley Farrer finished with a match-high 49 assists with 11 digs for her 16th double-double of the season, while freshman libero
Haylie Keck recorded a match-high 20 digs.
Idaho State (14-12, 9-4 BSC) came out flat in the first set as Southern Utah (4-21, 2-11 BSC) raced to an 11-2 lead. The Bengals suffered three receiving errors and five attacking errors to start the match, giving the Thunderbirds the early advantage. Southern Utah extended that lead to 11, 20-9, following another of ISU's nine first-set attacking errors, but ISU put together 7-3 run to cut SUU's lead to five, 23-17. The Thunderbirds were able to put the set away 25-18 with a kill from Sarah Morely.
In the second set Southern Utah was the early aggressor gaining a 4-2 advantage behind four T-bird kills. The Bengals countered and put together eight kills during a 9-2 run to take an 11-6 lead. Idaho State extended that lead to 10, 19-9 behind a .214 team hitting effort and held on for the 25-20 second set win.
Coming out of the break the Bengals took the early lead with a kill from junior middle blocker
Marissa Todd. However, Idaho State was unable to gain an advantage as the set saw five ties and two lead changes early. A kill from Jensen broke a 6-all tie and sparked a 6-1 Bengal run for a 12-7 advantage midway through the set. The Thunderbirds would cut ISU's lead to two, 16-14 following an ISU service error, but Idaho State was too much for SUU to handle hitting .343. The Bengals thwarted SUU's late comeback attempt and cruised to the 25-20 win.
In the fourth set, the Bengals once again hit over .300, this time connecting for 16 kills off 36 attempts with five errors for a .306 hitting percentage. A kill courtesy of Hirst fueled a 5-0 unanswered Bengal run to start the set, and the Bengals never looked back. ISU led the entire fourth set and closed the match with a 25-19 fourth set win.
"I'm really proud of how our team responded in sets three and four," Head Coach
Rick Reynolds said. "I felt like we came out a little flat due to the level of volleyball that Southern Utah was playing. It took us a second to adjust and find our rhythm. When we found our rhythm, things started to go our way. Southern Utah plays with so much heart that you have to keep fighting for every point."
Southern Utah was led by Chennin Benson with 18 kills and nine digs, while Sarah Morley led the defensive effort with 13 digs. SUU's Rebecca Nelson recorded a match-high seven blocks.
Idaho State returns to action Saturday, Nov. 5 against North Division leader Northern Arizona at 7 p.m. in Reed Gym. The match will serve as the final home match for ISU's three seniors
Hayley Farrer,
Bailey Bars and
Taeja Davis.
NOTES
- With the win, Idaho State has won nine of its last 10 matches.
- Freshman libero Haylie Keck continues to climb the record book. Currently, she has 484 digs this season which ranks fourth in ISU history for digs in a single season. Kylee Sessions hold the current single season dig record at 512, which she did during the 2012 season. Keck averages 4.84 digs per set and is on pace to break the record before the end of regular-season play.
- Senior setter Hayley Farrer now has 3,620 career digs, good for fifth all-time in ISU history. Her 11 digs against Southern Utah gives her 1,173 career digs, good for ninth all-time in ISU history.
