Moscow, ID - For the first time since Idaho State Volleyball handed Northern Colorado its only conference loss to date, they were on the road for conference play, first traveling to Cheney for a rematch with Eastern Washington and then back to their home state for a rivalry matchup with the Idaho Vandals.
Despite a loss to the Bengals to open the Big Sky slate, the Eagles had lost only once in the four matches since and won two of them without dropping a set. This surge continued against ISU on Thursday, as the Bengals were handed their second conference loss in three sets (22-25, 23-25, 21-25)
Despite the 0-3 loss, the Bengals were never truly out of it, and the set scores highlight that it was a tightly contested match all the way through. Idaho State continued to do what it does better than anyone else in the country, tying the Eagles with eight blocks from each team, including a highlight-reel stuff from Meline Robarge who led the orange and black with four.
Robarge (9) and
Sadie Bluth (12) led the Bengals' offensive attack against Eastern. Bluth came into the match with 987 career kills to her name, just narrowly missing the prestigious millennium mark in Cheney. Fortunately, she didn't need much time on Saturday to get there.
Following the loss in Cheney, ISU headed back to the north side of their home state for an annual rivalry matchup with the Idaho Vandals. In a runaway victory against their Big Sky foe, the Bengals did a lot of things to keep their foot on the gas, and the one thing they didn't do often was trail (25-13, 25-20, 25-17).
The orange and black offensive attack was on point throughout the night, and
Sadie Bluth wasted no time after narrowly missing the 1K kill mark on Thursday, turning the fourth point of the game into a major career milestone.
Bluth's career night highlighted one of the most dominant offensive performances for the Bengals on the season and perhaps in a long time. After the Vandals knotted the score at 1-1 in the first set, ISU went on separate scoring runs of 7-0 and 5-0 to make it 1-0 after one in one of the most statistically dominant sets in Idaho State history. The Bengals finished the first of the three with a 0.5 hitting percentage while holding the Vandals to -0.034 in the same stat.
ISU continued to click on all sides in Moscow, with
Jamie Streit (11), Bluth (10), and
Jaydin Watts (10) all recording double-digit kills and the orange and black out-blocking their opponents 9-1 and holding them to .133 in hit percentage on the night.
After week 4, the Bengals are sitting at 5-2 in Big Sky play, currently tied for third place in the conference with Eastern Washington. The Bengals return for a home slate in week 5, hosting Portland State on Thursday night and Sac State on Saturday afternoon in Reed Gym. Wins over the Vikings and Hornets could, at worst, move ISU to second place in Big Sky standings.
BENGAL BITES
-
Senior Sadie Bluth had a career night against Idaho, recording her 1000th career kill early in the first set. Next up in the active kills list is Jamie Streit, who currently sits at 950. Averaging double digit kills a game, Streit is on pace to eclipse the milestone by early November.
-
Speaking of Jamie Streit, the senior put on an offensive clinic against Idaho with a career-high hitting percentage of .688 on 11 kills
-
The Bengals' victory over Idaho earned them the in-state sweep alongside the W over Boise State in the non-conference slate. The last time the Bengals defeated the Broncos and Vandals in the same season was 2015.
-
Idaho State's streak of leading the nation in total blocks continued Sunday, as the Bengals have recorded 234 total blocks on the year and are one of only eight D1 schools to reach the 200 mark so far. ISU still leads the country in blocks per set (3.12) as well, and have commanding leads in both stats over the rest of the Big Sky.
