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FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The Idaho State volleyball team fell to Ball State 3-1 Friday evening in its second match of the Colorado State Tournament, hosted by Colorado State in Moby Arena. The Cardinals bested the Bengals in four with scores of 25-23, 27-29, 25-21 and 25-21.
Three Bengals finished in double-figure kills, led by junior outside hitter
Abby Garrity with 18. Senior outside hitter
Chloe Hirst finished with 15 while freshman middle blocker
Taylor Meeks finished with 11. Idaho State also finished with three players in double-figure kills, led by sophomore libero
Haylie Keck while Garrity and Hirst recorded 13 and 11 respectively.
"It was good to see our offense terminate at a high level, even though our offense was not playing at the level it's capable of competing at," Head Coach
Rick Reynolds said. "I thought out left backs played great defense and pick up some good balls. I thought we blocked really well, but we have to take care of the ball better offensively."
In a match that featured 40 ties and 14 lead changes, the entire night was a battle. In the first set, neither team led by more than three points. Late in the set, Ball State put together a 5-1 run to take a 19-16 lead, but three straight points from the Bengals tied the set once more at 19-all. Idaho State was outscored 6-4 to close the set, giving the Cardinals the 25-23 first set win.
The battle continued in the second set with nine ties and four lead changes. Idaho State struck first with a big kill from Garrity, but Ball State tied things up with an ISU attacking error. This back-and-forth play continued throughout the match until a Cardinals ace and three-straight ISU attacking errors gave Ball State a 14-10 advantage. The Bengals closed the gap, 14-13, but the Cardinals maintained the lead until a late-match surge tied the set 23-all.
The squads traded kill for kill, until a kill from Garrity gave ISU a 27-26 advantage. ISU finished the set with a big kill from Pehrson to take the set 29-27 and tie the match 1-1.
In the third, the back-and-forth play continued with 10 ties and two lead changes. Garrity led the Bengals with five kills off 10 attempts with no errors to hit .500. With the set tied 19-all, BSU went on a 6-2 run to take the set 25-21 and earn a 2-1 lead in the match.
Idaho State struggled to terminate in the final set, connecting for 13 kills off 39 attempts with nine errors. Though Ball State recorded just one more kill with 14, it was more efficient in its hitting, committing four errors off 35 attempts to hit .286. With the set tied 6-all, four consecutive Bengal hitting errors gave the Cardinals the 10-6 lead, and BSU extended that lead to as many as six midway through the set. The Bengals put together a 6-2 run to cut Ball State's lead to two, 22-20, but the Cardinals finished on a 3-1 run to claim the set 25-21 and win the match 3-1.
Ball State was led by Emily Holland with 10 kills off 22 attempts with one error to hit .409 while Amber Seaman finished with 42 assists.
Idaho State continues play Sunday against No. 25 Colorado State at 12 p.m. in the final match of the Colorado State Tournament in Moby Arena.
