Boise, Idaho – The Bengals traveled North this weekend to face some tough competition in the Boise State Classic in their third non-conference tournament of the 2024 season. They were slated for a double-header on Friday, matching up against the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners and the Gonzaga Bulldogs and a Saturday afternoon game against the tough Boise State Broncos.
The Bengals opened the 3-game tournament against the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners and faced some stiff competition in their first match. The two teams traded blows in a tough bout to eventually take the first set 25-21. Set number two started similarly, but the Bengals proved to be too much at the end, taking the final 6 points in a row to go up 2-0 in the series.
Down but not out, the Roadrunners fought their way back, outscoring the Bengals early in the third. Despite an 8-1 run and the valiant efforts by ISU, CSU Bakersfield survived the Bengal attack, winning the set 25-23. In the fourth and final set, the Bengals took care of business, putting down the Roadrunners 25-21 in what was a strong offensive battle between the two teams.
"Match 1 was such an offensive battle" Coach Sean Carter stated after the game. "Each team had such a hard time slowing down the offense of the other team. In the end our offense did a little bit more and was carried by the player of the match,
Meline Robarge, who also saw her first action as a 6-rotation player."
Carter credits Robarge as the "focal point" of the Bengals offense and defense, stating she is "a huge reason" for the team's success.
Idaho State meshed well as a team during their match, with three players totaling over 10 kills (
Meline Robarge-13,
Jamie Streit-13,
Sadie Bluth-11) and
Aliyah Sopo'aga carrying in the assist department (42).
With fire and energy coming off a strong win against CSUB, the Bengals rallied down two to force extra points in the first set against Gonzaga. After trading points, ISU put up 3 straight to take set number one in a strong display of toughness (27-25). A 10-2 run by Idaho State solidified set number 2 for the Bengals (25-19) putting them up 2-0 on the series.
The final set was a nail-biter, with ISU going up 9-4 early but giving up a 7-1 run late to give the Bulldogs the lead (23-21) and a fighting chance. Fear not, the Bengals silenced Gonzaga with a few solid possessions to pull out their second win of the day (and the Gonzaga sweep) to remain undefeated in Boise (28-26).
Despite the sweep, the Bulldogs were a hard opponent and really pushed the girls to their limits "Gonzaga was arguably our toughest match mentally because of the quick turn around and the pressure they put on us" said coach Carter. "I think fatigue was a factor, but it was great to see the mental resilience of our team to grind through that. Us winning in 3 sets doesn't show how close it was to going the other way."
Jaydin Watts led the way for Idaho State in this match, leading the team with 9 kills and 9 total blocks.
After a good night's rest and some time to recover, the Bengals were back at Bronco gym for their third and final match of the tournament. Idaho State came to play in this one with a 14-2 run late in the first set to silence the bustling Boise crowd.
Marci Bell backed her consecutive Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week title with an astounding 4 blocks to take set one 25-13 in a shocker.
Set number two was far more competitive, with constant back and forth runs between both teams. Boise squeaked out the tough win 25-22 to tie the match at 1 set apiece. Idaho State jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead in the third, returning to their look of dominance over Boise that they showed at the start winning 25-15.
The fourth and final set of the day was a brutal one for the Bengals.
Aliyah Sopo'aga, the team's main setter, was forced to exit due to injury leaving Idaho State scrambling down 8-2 early in the set. It looked as though the fourth set was a lost one and they would be forced to regroup for the fifth. Sean Carter said it best stating, "the whole team had other plans."
"They all went to a competitive place I have yet to see them go, they were not going to lay down and they battled to get back into the set". And battle they did. They went on a 12-4 run, digging deep in the face of adversity sealing the upset and beating the Broncos for the first time since 2015 (25-22).
"Boise State has been a program we aspire to compete with on a yearly basis… so hopefully this is just another source of confidence for our team to know we can compete at a very high level against really good, physical volleyball teams" said Coach Carter after their astounding win.
Jamie Streit continued her offensive dominance with 16 kills and three assists, getting involved on defense as well with 5 total blocks.
Jaydin Watts showed out defensively for the Bengals with 8 total blocks, giving fire and energy to help push the team towards their shocking win.
Up Next
Idaho State will take their talents to Sioux Falls, South Dakota next week (Sept. 19-21) to face South Dakota State, Belmont, and the University of Toledo in the Jackrabbit Invitational.
