Pocatello, ID - Idaho State Volleyball came into this week in contention for the top spot in the Big Sky Conference Standings. A win over the Northern Colorado Bears would have lifted the Bengals to first place and given them a major case to secure the regular season title.
However, on Thursday, the Bears showed just why they were atop the conference standings to begin with, coming into Reed Gym and battling the Bengals tough all night long. The level of talent was apparent on both sides, but ultimately, the Bengals were downed 1-3 by early mistakes that the Bears were able to capitalize on (22-25, 25-23, 22-25, 21-25).
Against the Bears, the Bengals were bolstered by Jamie Streit's 15 kills with Jaydin Watts recording 12 of her own. ISU was a strong serving team on Thursday with nine aces as a team. Ultimately the difference on the scoreboard was in UNC's slight edge (.278) over ISU (.212) in hitting percentage.
On Saturday, the Bengals recognized seven seniors playing their final home game in Reed Gym before hosting the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks.
Kait White, Lauren Mena, Jamie Streit, Peyton Michaelson, Sadie Bluth, Asiah Sopo'aga, and Aliyah Sopo'aga were lauded for outstanding careers in orange and black as head coach Sean Carter paid tribute to an amazing class of players.
The celebration was short-lived, however, as Northern Arizona came into Reed Gym determined to play spoiler, doing so in short notice with a 25-14 victory in set 1. The Bengals rebounded in the second and rode a dominant fourth set to force the fifth but fell short in the final outing to a 2-3 loss (14-25, 25-22, 22-25, 25-15, 9-15).
With a pair of losses this weekend, as well as wins by Weber State and Sacramento State, ISU can no longer clinch at least a share of the regular season title. With two wins to close out conference play, the Bengals can finish as high as second place in the conference from here.
