OREM, Utah – Idaho State (2-3) got hot too late as they lost to Utah Valley (2-2) in four sets (25-23, 25-21, 18-25, 25-23) Tuesday night in Lockhart Arena.
"I thought this was a great volleyball match," said Head Coach
Rick Reynolds. "Both teams played at a high level. I thought we played a little safe to start the match. Once we found our tempo, we had a lot of good things happen."
Abby Garrity led the Bengals against her former squad, racking up 17 kills on 41 attempts and adding nine digs.
Taylor Meeks had the hot hand, hitting at a .375 clip for the match with 14 kills while adding six digs and two blocks.
Nicole Lee also reached double-digit kills for the second time this season with 12 on 36 opportunities and
Chelsea Johnson recorded 50 assists to bring her season total to 239.
The first set remained tight with Idaho State holding the 17-15 advantage down the road. Utah Valley came roaring back in front of a rowdy crowd of 909 fans and buried ISU with a 7-0 run to go up 22-17. The Bengals battled back, forcing a Utah Valley timeout at 24-23 after a kill by Lee and an ace by Pehrson, but lost the first 25-23.
Garrity delivered three-consecutive kills to start the second set, sparking Idaho State to a 5-2 lead. The Wolverines slowly crept back into the game before opening a four-point lead at 16-12. The Bengals trailed for the remainder and faced a 2-0 deficit heading into the break.
The Bengals looked like a different team emerging from the intermission. The squads traded points to a 10-10 tie before ISU broke into a gallop, leaving UVU behind on an 11-3 run highlighted by five kills from Garrity. Idaho State got on the board with a 25-18 win in the third while hitting at a remarkable .500 percentage.
The Bengal attack fell from its lofty performance in the third, posting a .091 hitting percentage in the fourth. Idaho State led for a long stretch of the set and was the first team to 20 points before Utah Valley tied the game at 20-20. A kill from
Raegan Steiner and an attacking error by Makaila Jarema put ISU up by two as the possibility of a fifth set became more likely.
Utah Valley called a timeout and promptly evened the game at 22-all to force an ISU timeout. The Wolverines tacked on another quick two out of the break and ultimately took the match with a 25-23 win.
"The errors in the fourth set added up," Reynolds said. "Our serve was not putting enough pressure on them and we had to fight harder at the net and on the floor to create opportunities for our offense."
Utah Valley's Kazna Tarawhiti led the game in both kills and attacks with 19 and 43 respectively. She also recorded a double-double with 10 digs. Kristen Allred had a performance for the record books as she posted a .538 hitting percentage on 26 attempts (16 kills) and added 10 digs for her own double-double.
Both teams amassed 50-plus kills and recorded close totals in digs, side-out percentage, digs and aces. Utah Valley did hold a significant advantage on the block, earning 13 to Idaho State's eight and recording three less errors.
The Bengals return to Pocatello, Idaho to host the Idaho State Invitational Aug. 31-Sept. 1. The tournament features six matches in two days as ISU hosts Boise State, Milwaukee and UC Riverside.
