POCATELLO, Idaho – The Idaho State Bengals (10-9, 2-4 BSC) fell to the Portland State Vikings (11-7, 6-1 BSC) Thursday evening in Reed Gym with a score of 3-0 (25-17, 25-10, 25-22)
"That was the best team we have seen so far this season," remarked Head Coach Sean Carter. "They are the number one team in the conference for a reason. If we want to get up to the level we want to be and compete for a championship, we saw the level that we need to play at tonight."
The Viking took an early lead in the first set and held that lead for the remainder of the match. Whenever the Bengals would look to close the gap, the Vikings were able pull away again and while the Bengals tied the match a total of 10 times in the three sets, the Vikings were able to hold onto the lead and sweep the match.
Offensively, the Vikings ended the match with a .292 hitting percentage while holding the Bengals to just .079.
Normally a strong team at the net, the Bengals were able to hold the Vikings to just four total blocks, while the Bengals had three.
ISU's middles Emrie Satuala and Dani Devlin led the team hitting .235 and .231 respectively. The Bengals didn't have a hitter in double digits or any double-digit digs.
Looking Ahead
The Bengals are back home Saturday for a rematch with the Sacramento State Vikings. First serve is set for 7:00 PM in Reed Gym. Fans that show a stub from the football homecoming game will get a discounted $3 admission to the match.
