FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Idaho State (7-7, 1-0 BSC) defeated Northern Arizona (8-6, 0-1 BSC) on the road in a thrilling five-set match (30-28, 23-25, 26-24, 22-25, 15-8) to open Big Sky Conference play Thursday night. Two points separated the teams in the first three sets, and NAU won the fourth by three before ISU steamrolled the Lumberjacks with an 8-0 run to seal the match.
"It was a great match," said Head Coach
Rick Reynolds. "I'm really proud of how our kids played tonight. They battled and finished well."
Five Idaho State players recorded 10 or more kills, led by
Abby Garrity with 21. The senior had 65 attempts on the night and hit .215 while adding 14 digs for another double-double.
Brooke Pehrson and
Taylor Meeks both tallied 13 kills and the duo combined for 11 blocks.
Duquesne Moratzka and
Raegan Steiner collected 12 and 10 kills respectively. Moratzka added four digs and three block assists and Steiner had three digs and five block assists.
"I thought Raegan did a great job blocking and attacking," Reynolds said. "Our middles were strong at the net and were able to create a lot of dig opportunities."
Chelsea Johnson had a huge night for the Bengals, posting a double-double with 64 assists, seven kills, an ace, 11 digs and a block assist. She led all attackers with a .583 hitting percentage after converting on seven of 12 attempts.
Haylie Keck added 31 digs for ISU.
Idaho State held the advantage in attacks (204-179), kills (79-60), assists (72-55) and aces (6-3). Northern Arizona had a stronger presence at the net with 18 blocks to ISU's 11. The teams were nearly even in hitting percentage, digs and side-out percentage.
The Lumberjacks entered the match as one of the nation's best in opponent hitting percentage, but were unable to keep the Bengals down. Idaho State hit below .211 just once in five sets and posted a .370 hitting percentage in the fifth.
NAU sprang to a quick lead to start the first, going up 3-0 to begin play. The Bengals found themselves down 10-5 shortly after.
Garrity brought the Bengals within three at 14-11, and eight of the next nine points were awarded on errors. Northern Arizona committed the majority and took a timeout once Idaho State tied the game at 17-17. The teams traded points and the game remained knotted up at 20-20.
Back-to-back kills by Garrity and a service ace gave the Bengals the lead for the first time at 22-20. Idaho State failed to convert on two set points and then denied NAU the win on two separate occasions before taking the lead 29-28 on a kill by Garrity. Northern Arizona over passed Pehrson's serve and Meeks buried the ball center court to secure a 30-28 win.
The second set remained tight until the 11-11 mark. NAU took control for some time before Garrity earned a kill and an ace at the line to tie the game at 19-19. The 'Jacks got the hot hand late and were able to even up the match at a game apiece going into the break.
A series of errors at the service line and net put the Bengals down early in the third. They trailed by as many as four points in the early stages, but tied the match at 13-13. At 22-all, Meeks terminated and an ace by Garrity gave ISU set point. NAU battled back and tied the game at 24-24, but kills by Moratzka and Pehrson gave ISU the win 26-24.
The lead seldomly changed hands in the fourth with NAU remaining a point or two in front from the beginning. A series of attacking errors late in the game aided the Lumberjacks as they evened the series at 2-2.
The home team started hot in the fifth and built a 5-3 lead. Consecutive kills by Steiner put ISU on top 6-5 and the game was tied 8-8 shortly after the teams switched sides. A kill by Moratzka put
Alexis Simmons on the line, and she served out the remainder of the game as the Bengals went on a dominant 8-0 run fueled by three kills from Pehrson and two from Moratzka.
The Bengals emerged from Flagstaff, Ariz. with a clean slate in Big Sky play and take on Southern Utah in Cedar City, Utah on Saturday.
