POCATELLO, Idaho – Idaho State (10-8, 4-1 BSC) volleyball's five-game winning streak and perfect record in conference play were erased by Weber State (9-5, 4-1 BSC) Tuesday night. The Wildcats defeated the Bengals 3-1 (25-16, 32-30, 21-25, 25-21) in Reed Gym after winning a pivotal second set 32-30.
"They're a really good team," said Head Coach
Rick Reynolds. "You can't feed a really good team with that type of momentum. They rode it into the second set, and it was a great match from then on. We battled back-and-fourth and every point mattered, every serve, every set and every swing. It's just a great match in the Big Sky."
Nicole Lee led the team with 15 kills and .297 hitting percentage on the night. She also added four block assists and a dig to her stat line.
Abby Garrity posted a double-double with 14 kills and 13 digs on the night. She also collected three assists and an ace. Pehrson tallied eight blocks with 11 kills on the attack and three digs on defense.
"Nick had a great match tonight and Brooke had a great match offensively and defensively," Reynolds said. "They both did some really good stuff, but ultimately Weber played really well and earned the victory."
Chelsea Johnson accumulated 52 assists on 57 kills. She added two kills, three digs, an ace and four blocks.
Haylie Keck had a busy night in the back row with a career-high 38 digs. Her mark ranks third all-time in ISU history.
The Bengals and Wildcats looked nearly identical on paper. ISU had three more attacks and finished with 57 kills to WSU's 60. Weber State had three more attacking errors but had a slight edge in hitting percentage (.199-.195).
Both teams hit below .200 due to a strong effort on the block with each team collecting 13 redirects. The Wildcats were able to generate opportunities with their serve as they recorded eight aces on the night; ISU had just two.
Weber State got on the board first and climbed to a seven-point lead at 12-5, forcing a timeout from the Bengals. Lee and Johnson gave ISU back-to-back kills after the break, but it was the only time ISU would score consecutive points in the set as they fell 25-16 in the first.
The second-set was an instant classic, featuring 20 ties and eight lead changes during 62 points of play. Weber State led 8-5 prior to a four-point run that put the Bengals on top. The teams battled in a point-for-point affair until a streak by ISU forced a timeout from the Wildcats down 18-16.
WSU would take another timeout down 21-19 before knotting up the game at 22-all. A kill by Garrity put Weber State on the ropes, but the Wildcats denied consecutive set-point opportunities by the Bengals.
Idaho State then thwarted three set points for WSU and regained the lead 30-29. The Wildcats capitalized on two ISU errors and won the set 32-30.
The Bengals burst out of the locker room on a four-point run and continued to pile on points to force a WSU timeout at 7-1. The Wildcats threatened to comeback mid-way through the set, but never gained the lead or tied the Bengals.
Raegan Steiner posted three-straight kills for ISU to close the game 25-21.
A string of errors from the Wildcats put ISU up 6-3 to start the fourth. Weber State was able to draw even at 7-7 and secured the lead at 10-9. They didn't look back for the remainder of the match as they toppled an undefeated team from Idaho for the second-straight week.
Idaho State looks to rebound against another strong opponent in Northern Colorado on Friday. The Bengals host the 3-1 (BSC) Bears in Reed Gym at 7 p.m.
