POCATELLO, Idaho – Idaho State (3-5) was unable to slow Boise State's (5-0) offense as they lost 3-1 (25-18, 25-17, 19-25, 25-17) in the final match of the Idaho State Invitational. The Bengals finished their tournament 1-2 after losses to UC Riverside and Boise State and a sweep of Milwaukee.
"I thought we played at a pretty high level the first three sets," said Head Coach
Rick Reynolds. "The fourth set there we had a little bit more unforced errors and didn't really take care of the ball as well. Offensively, I thought we got some pretty good touches that gave us a chance to be more effective."
All-tournament team selection
Abby Garrity led ISU's offense with 16 kills on 43 attacks for a .302 hitting percentage.
Nicole Lee and
Brooke Pehrson finished with nine and seven kills respectively, and Pehrson added six block assists.
Raegan Steiner added five block assists on defense and tallied five kills for the offense while
Chelsea Johnson recorded 40 assists on the night.
Idaho State's hitters began the match strong, converting on their first three opportunities, but the Broncos got hot mid-set and distanced themselves. ISU took a timeout down 14-9 and was forced to take another after a four-point run by BSU extended the lead to eight. The Broncos went on to win the first set 25-18 after hitting .424. The Bengals were also efficient, posting a .400 hitting percentage.
Boise State had several large runs in the second, creating eight-point spreads at 18-10 and 20-12. The Bengals hit well again, securing 12 kills on 31 attacks to hit at a .387 clip, but trailed 2-0 after the set ended at 25-17.
The Bengal blockers caught fire after the intermission as they tallied seven of their eight blocks during the third. After securing the first point, the Bengals did not lead again until breaking a 15-15 tie on a Pehrson ace. Boise State took its first timeout after a setting error by Cassedi Simon put ISU up by two. The Bengals forced the Broncos to take another at 23-19 and claimed the set 25-19 after an ace by
Alexis Simmons and a kill by Lee.
"We got a lot of positive touches at the net," Reynolds said. "I think in the third set we had seven blocks. Seven of our eight blocks were all in the third set and so we were getting a lot more touches. Even in the fourth set we got a lot more touches and we held them to .179, which I think is a good spot to keep them."
The deciding set remained close until the 13-12 mark with BSU leading. The Broncos hit stride at that point, ending the game on a 12-5 run to secure the match win.
Tournament MVP Jessica Donahue was dominant for BSU, hitting .632 and tallying 13 kills to pair with six block assists. All-tournament selection Sabryn Roberts recorded 17 kills, 13 digs and seven blocks while Kiley Lewis ended the night with 13 kills.
With just one additional attack, the Broncos generated 12 more kills on offense. They held the higher hitting percentage, .269 to ISU's .173, and created a wall at the net with 15 team blocks to ISU's eight.
"Once we started doing what we can do defensively at the net, it opens up windows for us to have a lot of great offense," Reynolds said. "We've got a powerful offense and unfortunately we weren't able to create enough opportunities for us to terminate at the level that we're capable of."
Idaho State is back in action next weekend at the Denver University Invitational. There the team will face Saint Peter's University, Fairleigh Dickinson and Denver Sept. 7-8.
Milestones
Alexis Simmons surpassed 100 career digs and hit 25 career service aces.
New Game Highs
Mahala Bradburn - Aces:2
Alexis Simmons - Digs:12
Raegan Steiner - Blocks:5, Block Assists:5
