POCATELLO, Idaho – Idaho State (16-12, 10-5) dominated Portland State (5-22, 4-11 BSC) in the team's return to Reed Gym Thursday night. The Bengals trounced the Vikings 25-17 in each of the three sets and collected their ninth sweep of the season.
Abby Garrity and
Nicole Lee topped the kill chart with 12 and 11 respectively. Garrity also added an assist, two aces, seven digs and a block.
Brooke Pehrson was errorless on the attack with eight kills on 15 attempts to lead all players with a .533 hitting percentage. She also led Idaho State with six block assists.
Chelsea Johnson collected 35 assists while hitting .500 and collecting three block assists.
Haylie Keck was the only ISU player to reach double-digit digs with 11.
Idaho State hit above .300 for the second time in three matches while holding Portland State to a .105 attacking percentage. ISU had twice as many kills and assists as PSU and collected 44 digs to PSU's 33. The Vikings held the advantage in blocks (9-7) and aces (7-6).
Portland State was the first on the board with a service ace to start the match. They surrendered the lead after back-to-back kills from
Taylor Meeks.
A few points later, Garrity collected three kills and Pehrson placed an ace in front of the back line to put Idaho State up 14-7. Lee had consecutive kills to give ISU set point and Pehrson sealed the win.
Mahala Bradburn started on the service line in the second set and took ISU on a 6-0 run. The Bengals pushed the lead to double-digits at 18-8 and held set point at 24-14. The Vikings denied the Bengals the set for three points before Pehrson ended the second with a kill.
Portland State tallied two quick points to start the third before surrendering an 8-1 run to Idaho State. Lee and Pehrson each tacked on a pair of kills as ISU scored eight unanswered points to bring the lead to 18-8.The Vikings cut the lead to six, but ISU responded with another large run and Alexis Smith tallied the final two kills in the sweep.
Katy Wilson led PSU with seven kills and blocks while hitting at a .333 clip. The PSU setter Maddy Reeb was the only other player in green to hit over .100.
Sacramento State will head to Reed Gym coming off a loss to Weber State. The Bengals will move ahead of the Hornets in the conference standings with a win Saturday night. First serve is at 7 p.m.
