CHENEY, Wash. – Idaho State (13-12, 7-5 BSC) got back on track with a swift sweep of Eastern Washington (8-16, 0-12 BSC) Friday night. The Bengals won all three sets by at least eight points as 10 ISU players recorded a kill.
"I thought tonight we took advantage of the opportunities given to us," said Head Coach
Rick Reynolds. "Each athlete stepped on the court and took care of their responsibility. This was a total team effort. They're competitive and passionate. Our staff really enjoys how they compete every day in practice."
Chelsea Johnson spread the ball all around the court, picking up 34 assists on 39 kills. The sophomore also added a kill, service ace, five digs and a career-high six block assists.
"Chelsea does a great job of trusting her training and moving the ball around," Reynolds said.
Abby Garrity was the closest to 10 kills on either side of the net with nine on 22 attacks for a .364 hitting percentage. The senior also had six digs and a block assist.
Nicole Lee had seven kills on 17 attacks and added a block assists and dig.
Brooke Pehrson and
Taylor Meeks combined for 10 kills and 12 blocks on the night as Pehrson tallied a team and season-high eight block assists.
Duquesne Moratzka and Alexis Smith both had four kills with Smith collecting two blocks.
Haylie Keck led ISU with 15 digs and had the team's other four assists.
Nikole Cook also reached double-digits with 12 digs.
Idaho State rebounded from its most recent loss with a .283 hitting percentage in tonight's win. The Bengals tallied 39 kills on 99 attempts. ISU also had a strong presence at the net on defense with 12 blocks and added 50 digs.
"I thought our block made the difference in the match," Reynolds said. "We maintained our block integrity throughout the match."
The ISU block dragged the EWU hitting percentage below zero as the Eagles hit -.037. Eastern Washington had more errors (29) than kills (25) in the match. They did manage to collect seven blocks and 40 digs.
The Bengals opened a 12-4 lead to begin the match without recording an attacking error. ISU was at 19 points before EWU reached double-digits and the Bengals rolled to a 25-14 win in the opening frame. The Bengals hit .300 in the opening set and recorded three of their four service aces.
The second set was tight in the early stages with ISU holding a 10-9 lead. The Bengals exploded for six of the next seven points and the Eagles were unable to recover. Idaho State had a four-point run to close the set with a 25-17 win.
ISU held dominant 11-3 and 14-5 leads in the deciding set. EWU was able to fight off one set point, but the Bengals completed the sweep with a 25-16 win in the third.
Idaho State is back on the road for the second half of its four-game road stand next week. They play Weber State and Northern Colorado Thursday and Saturday.
