PORTLAND, Ore. -- Idaho State (12-9, 6-2 BSC) defeated Portland State (2-18, 1-7 BSC) in five sets (21-25, 25-13, 25-27, 25-21, 15-11) Saturday night in a back-and-fourth affair that lasted over two hours. Four ISU players eclipsed 10 kills on the night to spark the comeback win after the Bengals lost the first set.
"I am excited about how we responded tonight," said Head Coach
Rick Reynolds. "Portland State is very well coached and plays really good volleyball. They will continue to be a force in our conference."
Abby Garrity fell one dig shy of a 20-20 night with 20 kills on 66 attempts and 19 digs.
Nicole Lee tallied 14 kills while hitting .379 and added three digs, an assist and two blocks.
"I really like how
Nicole Lee played," Reynolds said. "She had some really big swings for us throughout the match."
Brooke Pehrson and
Taylor Meeks recorded 12 and 11 kills respectively, and Meeks led the team in hitting percentage at .391 on 23 attacks. She also led the team with seven blocks with Pehrson adding four.
Chelsea Johnson had a huge night with 63 assists on 67 kills for ISU. She also collected three kills, two aces, seven digs and four blocks.
Haylie Keck led the team in digs with 29 to pair with two assists and three aces.
Mahala Bradburn also reached the 10-digs mark.
"I am really proud of our adjustments on defense," Reynolds said. "Our block got more involved and our floor defense picked up to create conversion opportunities for our offense."
Idaho State generated eight more attacks with 10 more kills on the night than Portland State. They had eight fewer hitting errors to lead in hitting percentage (.250-.159). The Bengals also led in aces (8-5) and blocks (11-8) while both teams had 79 digs.
Portland State led the beginning stages of the first set before a five-point run by Idaho State tied the game at 14-14. Portland State emerged from its timeout and won the next four points to force an ISU timeout at 18-14. Two kills from Garrity and one from Steiner brought the Bengals within one, but that was as close as they got for the remainder of the game as they lost the first set 25-21.
Idaho State dominated the second set. They forced the Vikings to burn their second timeout with a 16-6 lead. The Bengals had 22 points before the Vikings hit double digits and cruised to a 25-13 win to even the match.
The teams battled in a thrilling third set that featured 17 ties and nine lead changes. Neither team led by more than two points until Portland State forced an Idaho State timeout with a 19-16 lead. The Bengals won six of the next eight points and held set point at 24-21.
The Vikings denied three-straight set points to tie the game at 24 and turned the Bengals away once again while trailing 25-24. PSU's Toni McDougald collected consecutive kills to give the Vikings their first set point as they won 27-25.
Idaho State built another quick lead to start the fourth. Down 5-1, Portland State collected the next eight points to surge ahead 9-5. An ace by Keck tied the game at 10-10 before PSU regained the lead 13-10.
It took a four-point run fueled by PSU errors to put the Bengals back on top, but they quickly lost the advantage and called a timeout down 18-16. A kill from Meeks sparked a 6-1 run for ISU and Lee sealed the game at 25-21 to force a fifth set.
The fifth set was tied 7-7 prior to a five-point streak for Idaho State sparked by two aces from Bradburn. A kill from Meeks gave ISU set point at 14-10, and an attacking error two plays later gave Idaho State the five-set victory with a 15-11 win.
Idaho State returns to Reed Gym next week. The Bengals host Southern Utah Thursday and Northern Arizona Saturday.
Bengal Milestones
Brooke Pehrson moved to eighth all-time in block assists.
Raegan Steiner reached 100 career kills.
Taylor Meeks recorded her 150th career block.
Nicole Lee reached 50 career blocks.
Chelsea Johnson tallied her 50th career kill.
New Match Highs
Abby Garrity - 66 attacks
