CEDAR CITY, Utah – Idaho State (8-7, 2-0 BSC) swept Southern Utah (1-13, 0-2 BSC) to remain undefeated in Big Sky Conference play Saturday afternoon. The three-set win (25-22, 25-19, 25-22) was Idaho State's fifth sweep of the season and second win on the road.
"It is nice to pick up two wins on the road to start Big Sky play," said Head Coach
Rick Reynolds. "We need to continue to build on the process and raise the standard."
Abby Garrity posted a double-double for the second-consecutive game with 12 kills and 14 digs. The senior also had an assist, one ace and two block assists.
Brooke Pehrson and
Raegan Steiner frustrated SUU attackers all afternoon as they combined for 13 total blocks. Pehrson and
Taylor Meeks each had seven kills in the match with Pehrson leading all players with a .467 hitting percentage.
"We were able to spread the court offensively," Reynolds said. "Brooke and Taylor were active and Raegan continues to develop and find ways to score."
Chelsea Johnson recorded 31 assists, two kills, four digs and two blocks, one solo.
Haylie Keck tallied 15 digs and
Mahala Bradburn and
Nikole Cook combined for 17 more.
The teams were nearly even in attacks and each had 37 kills, but Idaho State posted a higher hitting percentage (.232 to .137) with 10 fewer errors. The teams both had 34 sets and 50-plus digs with Idaho State earning an advantage in blocks (12-8).
"The teams did some really good things defensively," Reynolds said. "Our net play created a lot of dig opportunities. We were able to get more transition offense opportunities and terminated with good efficiency."
Southern Utah's hitters came out swinging and quickly put Idaho State in a hole 9-3. The Bengals responded with a dominant 14-3 run to force a Southern Utah timeout at 17-12. Five different ISU players recorded a point during the run. The Thunderbirds narrowed the lead to a single point several times, but
Brooke Pehrson was able to secure a 25-22 win in the first.
Both teams relinquished leads to start the second set. The game was tied at 9-9 before Idaho State opened a seven-point run to lead 16-9. Southern Utah never recovered as back-to-back kills from Garrity and Pehrson closed the game 25-19.
The Bengals played from behind deep into the third with SUU taking three-point leads at 5-2, 10-7 and 14-11. ISU took its first lead at 16-15, but the game was tied up three times after. Consecutive kills by Steiner spurred a Southern Utah timeout with the Bengals leading 19-18. The hosts ran out of steam late as Garrity put the bookend on the sweep with a 25-22 win in the third.
Idaho State welcomes Eastern Washington and Idaho to Reed Gym next week to start a four-game home stand. ISU takes on the Eagles Thursday and the Vandals Saturday in 2018's first edition of Battle of the Domes.
