Sioux Falls, SD - In the last of three non-conference road slates, Idaho State Volleyball traveled east to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to compete in the Jackrabbit Invitational.
While hosted by in-state South Dakota State, the round-robin tournament took place an hour south of Brookings at the Sanford Sports Complex, a 500-acre campus with facilities catering to over a dozen different sports.
The tournament commenced for the Bengals with a primetime matchup against their hosts on Thursday night. The Jacks, who would ultimately finish their non-conference slate undefeated, outpaced ISU in every significant statistic except for total blocks, a stat that the orange and black still lead the nation in by a wide margin. In the three-set defeat (19-25, 19-25, 18-25), the Bengals were led in kills by Jamie Streit and Marci Bell with nine apiece. Bell (4) and Streit (2) also led the team in blocks in a versatile effort against the Missouri Valley foe.
After a hiccup against the Jacks, the Bengals cleared their throat against the Belmont Bruins on Friday with their second three-set sweeper of the season, done in emphatic fashion with at least a seven-point differential all three outings. ISU was bolstered by a relentless offensive attack, with Sadie Bluth and Jamie Streit recording 12 and 11 kills, respectively, and seven total aces from four different Bengals.
Friday also acted as the Sopo'aga show as the orange and black were led in four major categories by Asiah Sopo'aga or Aliyah Sopo'aga. Asiah continued a strong defensive campaign with 13 digs against Belmont alongside two of the Bengals' seven aces.
Aliyah made and set up plays in her own right, tying for the team lead in blocks with four and recording 27 total assists on the day, as well as a highlight-reel, acrobatic kill on a set over when every Bruin was hibernating on one side of the court.
The Bengals offensive attack continued all day long, culminating in a 25-10 set 2 blowout featuring
Meline Robarge laying the hammer down to pile onto the lead heading into the 3rd, another strong victory for ISU. (25-17, 25-10, 25-18).
Idaho State rode the momentum from Friday into Saturday morning, taking on the MAC mainstay Toledo Rockets. In a matchup vs. an upper-division squad with tight contests against Wake Forest, Marshall, and the undefeated Jackrabbits under their belts, everything was pointing towards another close competition. Still, the orange and black ran away with a decisive win in the barnburner (25-20, 21-25, 25-23, 25-18).
Sadie Bluth led the team in kills (16) for the second time in just over 12 hours while also tied for the team lead in blocks (6) with
Marci Bell, who continued a nationally dominant campaign over the weekend.
Aliyah Sopo'aga once again put on a setting clinic with 43 total assists.
After three straight road trips, the 2024 non-conference season has come to a close and was a historic one for Idaho State. A 9-3 record at the end of a non-conference slate is the team's best start to the season since 2003, when the Bengals sat at 10-3 by the start of Big Sky play.
Up Next
Speaking of Big Sky play, ISU is returning home for the conference tip-off on Thursday, Sept. 26, hosting Eastern Washington at 7:00pm in Reed Gym.
Bengal Bites
The best defense in the country continues to wear orange and black, cementing their status as not only the #1 blocking team in Division 1 but across all levels of NCAA volleyball. The Bengals' 147 total blocks on the season is the best in the country and a full 12 blocks more than second place Boston College.
This defensive effort is led in large part by
Marci Bell and
Jaydin Watts, who both rank in the D1 top 8 in total blocks and blocks per set.
Aliyah Sopo'aga continues to establish herself as one of the best setters in school history and is on the cusp of putting her name in the record books. With 1,474 career assists to her name and 383 in twelve matches this fall, the senior needs just 175 more to crack the top-10 in Idaho State's storied volleyball history.
