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SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Idaho State volleyball team fell to Utah 3-0 in its season opener Friday evening at the John M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City. The Bengals struggled to find their offensive rhythm in the first two sets falling 25-17 and 25-11, but they challenged the Utes in the third set before falling 25-22.
"I'm really proud of the effort tonight," Head Coach
Rick Reynolds said. "We had a lot of opportunities but did not do a great job of taking advantage of them. Utah is a good team and they played at a higher level than we did."
Idaho State (0-1) was led by sophomore outside hitter
Abby Jensen who registered 10 kills and four digs in her first appearance as a Bengal. Senior right side
Bailey Bars added eight kills off a .312 hitting percentage to go along with seven digs, while senior
Hayley Farrer added 24 assists and nine digs.
In the first set, sophomore
Chloe Hirst led the Bengals off with a strong kill for the Bengals and Jensen followed for the early 2-2 tie. The squads traded points until the Bengals took a 10-7 lead following back-to-back kills from Hirst and Jensen in addition to a service ace. The Utes responded with a 10-1 run for a 17-11 advantage, and the Bengals were unable to close the gap. Utah (1-0) went on to claim the first set 25-17.
In the second set, the Bengals struggled offensively as the Utes raced out to a 10-2 advantage fueled by three-straight kills from Adora Anae. The Bengals finished the second set with just five kills off 32 attempts as Utah took the second set 25-11 to give ISU a 2-0 deficit heading into the break.
In the third set, Idaho State challenged Utah point-for-point for the entire set. The Bengals registered 15 kills to Utah's 16 kills, and they were much more efficient finishing at the net with a .263 hitting percentage, their highest of the match. Following two kills, ISU took a 20-18 lead, but Utah closed the set on a 7-2 run to win the set 25-22 and the match 3-0.
"It was important for us at the break to come out and execute what we've practiced," Reynolds said. "When things are not going your way, it's easy to forget the work you put in doing things right. The team responded and earned a lot of points in set three."
Idaho State is back in action Saturday, Aug. 27 for its final two matches of the Utah Classic. The Bengals face Butler at 12 p.m. followed by Gonzaga at 5 p.m.
