Women's Volleyball | 11/14/2017 4:22:00 PM
Game Notes | Watch Live | Live Stats | Listen Live
POCATELLO, Idaho – For the 17th time in program history, the Idaho State volleyball team is headed to the Big Sky Conference Tournament. This is the sixth-straight trip for the Bengals, who will face No. 3 Idaho in the quarterfinals at 2:30 p.m. MST on Thursday, Nov. 16.
Sacramento State, the regular-season Big Sky Champions, will host the 2017 Big Sky Conference Tournament. All matches will be played at Sac State at The Nest.
BENGALS PREVIEW
Idaho State clinched a spot in the Big Sky Conference tournament for the sixth-straight year after defeating Weber State 3-2 in Ogden, Utah. This will be Idaho State's sixth-consecutive appearance in the Big Sky Conference tournament and 17th overall. The Bengals have advanced to the Big Sky Conference Tournament championship four of the last five seasons, winning it all in 2013 for an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
The Bengals finished 8-8 in conference play to rank fourth in the South Division and sixth overall to secure the No. 6 seed for the Big Sky Conference Tournament. Idaho State will face No. 3 Idaho for the fourth time in BSC tournament play. The Bengals carry a 2-1 edge in BSC tournament games against the Vandals.
LAST TIME OUT: The Bengals fell in straight sets on Senior Night to Portland State with scores of 25-19, 25-23 and 25-20. Junior outside hitter
Abby Garrity led the Bengals with 11 kills to go along with seven digs, one solo block and one block assist. Senior outside hitter
Marissa Dance added 10 kills off 24 attempts with just one error to hit .375 while adding seven digs, one solo block and two block assists.
Garrity ranks 7th in the Big Sky in kills per set with 3.43, while
Haylie Keck ranks 1st in service aces per set with 0.39. Keck also ranks 2nd in digs per set with 4.89. In conference matches, Keck leads the Big Sky in digs per set with 5.92 while
Brooke Pehrson ranks tied-for-8th in blocks per set with 1.05.
SCOUTING No. 3 IDAHO
· The Vandals won five-straight matches to close Big Sky Conference play with a 12-4 overall record and clinch the No. 3 seed. Idaho carries a 17-10 overall record.
· This season, the Bengals faced Idaho only once on Oct. 26 in Pocatello. Idaho State won that meeting 25-19, 26-24 and 25-20 after hitting .426 for 52 kills. Both
Abby Garrity and
Chloe Hirst led the Bengals with 12 kills each, while Makayla Lundin added 38 assists and
Haylie Keck finished with 15 digs.
· Currently, Idaho averages 13.4 kills per set hitting .269 to go along with 12.5 assists and 15.2 digs per set. Idaho's .269 hitting percentage leads the Big Sky by a wide margin, as Portland State ranks second hitting .242. Idaho State currently ranks eighth hitting .191.
· Idaho also ranks third in the conference in assists (12.5), kills (13.4) and blocks (2.5).
· Sarah Sharp leads the Vandals with 3.62 kills per set hitting .258 while Kaela Straw ranks second with 3.59 kills per set hitting .268 on the season. Straw also averages 0.59 blocks per set. Alycia Wodke leads the defensive effort with 4.6 digs per set while Torrin Crawford and DeVonne Ryter both average 1.14 blocks per set.
· Idaho is led by Head Coach Debbie Buchanan who is in her18th season with the Vandals.
· SERIES REVIEW: Idaho leads the series 20-18, but the series is tied 3-3 in a neutral location. The last time these two teams met in a neutral location was in the conference tournament semifinals on Nov. 20, 2015. Idaho State defeated Idaho in four sets, 3-1, to advance to the championship match.
FOLLOW THE ACTION LIVE
All matches will be broadcast live on
PlutoTV Channel 231, and fans can access live stats by clicking
here. Fans can also listen live to Idaho State's quarterfinal match by clicking
here.
