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POCATELLO, Idaho – Idaho State fell to No. 10 BYU 3-0 Saturday evening in Reed Gym in the final match of the Idaho State Invitational presented by Idaho Central Credit Union.
"From our perspective, BYU came out and attacked in all phases of the game," Head Coach
Rick Reynolds said. "We didn't adjust fast enough and did not execute at the level we are capable of."
Idaho State (4-6) was led by junior
Marissa Todd with seven kills, while senior
Hayley Farrer finished with 22 assists. The Bengals struggled to connect offensively, finishing with just 26 kills while hitting .081 for the match.
The Bengals started the first set on a high note with a monster kill from freshman
Brooke Pehrson for the early 1-0 lead and followed with kills from sophomore
Abby Jensen and a service ace from Farrer. Add in a BYU (9-0) attacking error coupled with a bad set and an ISU service ace and the Bengals were ahead 6-3.
The Cougars turned on the burners starting with a kill and two service aces from Veronica Jones-Perry in addition to another BYU kill courtesy of Lyndie Haddock. The following ISU attacking error gave BYU the 8-6 lead and paved the way for a big Cougar run. Idaho State found itself staring down a 10-point deficit, 20-10, and the Bengals were unable to close the gap, falling 25-14 in the first set.
Idaho State rebounded from its tough first set and battled in the second, registering 11 of its 26 kills in the second set alone. Although the Bengals never held the lead, they forced seven ties and capped a 5-1 run midway through the set to cut BYU's lead to three, 20-17. However the Bengals were unable to tie the set an eighth time and BYU went on to win 25-21.
The Bengals hit just .077 in the third set, connecting on eight of 26 attempts and struggled to keep pace with the visiting Cougars. BYU cruised to the 25-14 third-set victory and swept the Bengals 3-0.
"We really took tonight to try to focus on our side and the strengths on our side," Reynolds said. "BYU took away some of our strengths and it created some long point runs for them. If you take away a couple of their big point runs in every set, it's a competitive set. We just didn't do a great job of siding out."
Todd was the only Bengal to be named to the Idaho State Invitational All-Tournament team. BYU's Roni Jones Perry, McKenna Miller and Amy Boswell also earned all-tournament honors, while Mizzou's Melanie Crowe and Carly Kan and Boise State's Janell Walley were also honored. BYU's Boswell earned MVP honors for the weekend.
The Bengals are back in action Friday, Sept. 16 at 2:30 p.m. MST against Sacred Heart in Durham, N.C. in the first match of the Holly Young Invitational at the University of New Hampshire.
