Box Score PDF
DURHAM, N.H. – The Idaho State volleyball team defeated Holy Cross in four sets Saturday morning with scores of 25-19, 22-25, 25-19 and 25-17 in the Holly Young Invitational. The Bengals bested the Crusaders in every single statistical category, but most glaringly in service aces as ISU recorded a season-high 12 to HCU's six.
Three Bengals finished with double-figure kills, led by junior
Chloe Hirst with 13. Sophomore
Abby Jensen finished with 12 kills, while junior
Marissa Todd finished with 10 kills, hitting a match-high .429, and 10 digs for her fifth double-double of the season.
The Bengals started the match strong, gaining a 10-5 advantage early by capitalizing on four Holy Cross (4-8) errors. Idaho State (5-7) forced the Crusaders to hit just .093 for the set, while the Bengals registered 14 kills off 39 attempts to hit .179. ISU never relinquished its lead and cruised to the 25-19 first set win.
The second set was a battle featuring six ties and five lead changes, and although Idaho State stayed consistent with its hitting (12 kills off 35 attempts for .143 hitting percentage), the Crusaders hit .310 for 11 kills to keep the set close. ISU led 20-15 late in the set until HCU put together a 10-2 run to close the set for the 25-22 win.
Idaho State started the third set with a big block from Todd and freshman
Brooke Pehrson to set the tone early and gained a 3-0 advantage early. The Bengals extended their lead to four points, 14-10 after putting together a short 4-0 run with a service ace, HCU attacking error and two straight kills, one from Jensen and another from freshman
Nicole Lee.
The Crusaders were able to close the gap to 17-16 but two straight Bengal kills gave ISU some breathing room once more. Idaho State finished the set on a 6-3 run to win the set 25-19.
In the fourth and final set, ISU struck first with a kill courtesy of Jensen and Holy Cross returned the favor with a kill of its own from Mandy Sifferlen. The squads were tied five-all until ISU's Hirst stepped up to serve. During Hirst's service, the Bengals capitalized on five Crusader errors and added two kills to put together a 7-0 run for the 12-5 advantage. Idaho State forced HCU to hit just .063 in the final set and never relinquished its lead, cruising to the 25-17 win to take the match 3-1.
Idaho State is back in action this evening as it faces New Hampshire at 5 p.m. MST in the final match of the Holly Young Invitational.
