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HOUSTON, Texas – Idaho State earned its third-straight win Friday evening with a 3-1 victory over Houston in its second match of the Cougar Classic, hosted by the University of Houston. The Bengals hit over .300 for the fifth-straight match with 54 kills of 130 attempts with just 15 errors for a .300 hitting percentage.
"This was a great effort by the team," Head Coach
Rick Reynolds said. "They battled through consecutive matches today and were able to perform at a high level."
The Bengals continued their balanced attack with three players finishing with double-digit kills, led by sophomore outside hitter
Abby Jensen with a match-high 17. Junior outside hitter
Chloe Hirst added 16 while junior middle blocker
Marissa Todd finished with 10 digs and 12 kills for her second double-double of the season. Senior setter
Hayley Farrer finished with a match-high 40 assists, while freshman libero
Haylie Keck dug a team-high 16 balls.
"I'm really proud of our outsides," Reynolds said. "Abby, Chloe and Todd are doing a great job of transitioning and finding holes to score and terminate."
Houston (3-2) took control of the first set early and led by six, 14-8, midway through the set. Idaho State (3-3) responded and put together a 7-0 run behind four Bengal kills and a service ace to take the 15-14 lead. Another kill from Todd and a Cougar attacking error gave the Bengals a two-point cushion, but a kill from UH's Brianna Gardner and a bad set from ISU tied the match at 17.
A few plays later, the teams were once again deadlocked at 21-all until Hirst fired off three-straight kills to give the Bengals a 23-20 lead. Houston closed the gap, capitalizing on two ISU errors, but the Bengals were able to close out the set with two kills for the 26-24 win.
In the second set, neither team led by more than four points until Idaho State went on a 6-1 run to close the set 25-20. The Bengals hit .438 in the second, connecting for 16 kills on 32 attempts with just two errors.
After the break, the third set started similarly to the first two; neither team led by more than two points and the score was tied 9-all midway through the set. Then Houston attacked, putting together a 12-1 run behind seven kills and two service aces coupled with three ISU errors for a 21-10 advantage. The gap was too much for the Bengals to overcome, and the Cougars went on to win the set 25-15.
Idaho State traded point-for-point with Houston to start the fourth set until three straight errors by the Cougars gave ISU a 9-6 lead. A kill by Farrer and a service ace from Hirst extended the Bengals' lead to four, 11-7 forcing Houston to take a timeout.
Houston would outscore the Bengals 10-6 over the next few plays to tie the set 17-17, but the Bengals would convert seven kills over the ensuing possessions to outscore the Cougars 8-4 and close the set with a 25-21 advantage for the 3-1 match win.
IDAHO STATE VS. LAMAR
In the first match, Idaho State defeated Lamar in three sets 25-23, 26-24 and 25-22 for its second-straight sweep after beating Utah Valley in three sets on Aug. 30. The Bengals hit .316 for the match and had 42 assists on 43 kills.
Three Bengals finished with double-digit kills led by Hirst with a match-high 15. Hirst hit .500 for the match, connecting on 15-of-26 attempts with just two errors. Todd also registered double-digit kills with 11, while Jensen connected on 11. Keck led the defensive effort for the Bengals with a match-high 11 digs.
In the first set, Idaho State claimed the early lead 7-4 as the Bengals capitalized on four Cardinals errors, but a 9-3 run in favor of LU gave the Bengals a three-point hole deficit midway through the set. That gap widened to four points, 15-11, following a Bengal error and a Cardinal kill. Idaho State responded with three-straight kills from three different players, Todd, Hirst and senior
Taeja Davis to force Lamar in to a timeout.
Over the next few plays, ISU took advantage of four LU errors and a service ace courtesy of Hirst to take the lead 19-18. The Bengals finished the set with three-straight points, two kills from Hirst and a final big block from Todd and Davis, to take the first 25-23.
In the second set, it was Lamar that claimed the early advantage as the Cardinals raced out to a 5-1 lead following two ISU errors and two LU kills and a service ace. Lamar extended its lead to five, 16-11, midway through the set following four-straight Cardinals kills.
The Bengals responded with a 7-3 run to cut Lamar's lead to one, 19-18. The Bengals took their first lead of the set a few plays later off a kill from Jensen to break a 23-all tie and give ISU the 24-23 lead. Lamar tied the set once more 24-all following and ISU error, but the Bengals finished with two-straight points off an LU error and a service ace from Farrer for the 26-24 win and 2-0 match lead.
In the third set, Idaho State was rolling offensively as the Bengals hit .419 for the set connecting on 16-of-31 attempts with just three errors. The Cardinals led early, but once ISU took the lead 5-4 following a kill from Todd, the Bengals cruised to the 25-22 third set win.
"Lamar challenged us with their serve," Reynolds said. "It put pressure on us and prepared us for Houston."
The Bengals are back in action Saturday, Sept. 3 at 9 a.m. MST against Texas Southern in their final match of the Cougar Classic in Houston, Texas.
