SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Idaho State volleyball team (11-9, 5-2 BSC) was swept for the first time in conference play by Sacramento State (10-11, 5-2 BSC) Thursday night.
"We did a lot of things well," said Head Coach
Rick Reynolds. "Our serve receive and our defense were not to our standard tonight. Sacramento State played well and is always tough to beat at home."
Nicole Lee led the attack as the only Bengal to reach 10 kills in the match. Lee hit .172 with 29 attacks and added three digs.
Chelsea Johnson collected 31 assists on 36 kills for ISU. The sophomore also had seven digs, an ace, a block assist and three kills.
Abby Garrity fell short of 10 kills for just the third time this season with eight on 31 attacks. She contributed an assist, an ace and eight digs.
Raegan Steiner tallied six kills on 14 attacks for a .357 hitting percentage and
Taylor Meeks had five kills on nine attacks to hit at a .444 clip.
Haylie Keck led the team in digs with 16 and combined with
Brooke Pehrson for five of ISU's eight service aces.
"I am proud of the serve tonight," Reynolds said. "We challenged them to create opportunities for our defense and they did."
The libero also had four assists to reach 250 career assists. No player on the team had multiple blocks with four players collecting one block assist.
Sacramento State had 11 more kills on 18 more attacks and posted a higher hitting percentage (.238-.213). The Bengals led in digs and service aces with 52 and eight respectively, but were out-blocked 6-2.
Three-point runs were a reoccurring theme in the first set with the Hornets jumping to a 3-0 lead before ISU tied the game at three all. Sacramento State was able to create a four-point gap at 10-6 and 11-7, but two service aces from Pehrson allowed Idaho State to tie the game at 13.
Though the game featured nine ties, ISU was unable to break a deadlock until they went up 18-17 for their first lead of the match. The Bengals remained in control until SAC evened the game at 23-23. The Hornets capitalized on two attacking errors by ISU to win the first set 25-23.
Idaho State took an early 5-2 lead in the second set and still held control when Sacramento State took a timeout down 12-8. The Bengals continued to extend the lead as back-to-back kills by Garrity gave them a 15-10 lead.
The Hornets surged back and tied the game at 18-18 before unleashing a six-point streak. The Bengals fought off consecutive set points, but fell 25-21 before the break.
Two service aces and an errorless attack gave ISU a 6-2 lead to start the third. SAC won the next four points to tie the game and took the lead shortly after on two Bengal errors.
Idaho State trailed 12-10 before a pair of kills from Lee and a service ace by Keck put them back on top 13-12. Down 14-13, the Hornets unleashed another mid-set surge with a run of seven. ISU closed in on the lead at 24-22, but SAC's Mikaela Nocetti sealed the sweep with a kill in the 25-22 win.
"We have the skill necessary to win in environments like this and we will continue to push our standard higher and trust the process," Reynolds said.
It was just the second conference loss for Idaho State this season. The Bengals have a day of travel before facing Portland State Saturday night.
Bengal Milestones
Taylor Meeks reached 300 career kills.
Haylie Keck reached 250 career assists.
Chelsea Johnson tallied her 150th career dig.
