Pocatello, Idaho – It was a historic night for the Bengals as they continued their dominant run in the start of conference play after going undefeated on the week.
"Coach is happy" stated Sean Carter to put it simply. With their 2 strong conference wins Idaho State is 11-3, the best open to a season in school history since
1987.
The team road tripped off to Greeley in what figured to be a hard-fought contest against the burly Bears team. The Bengals struck first in this conference clash, looking all but unbeatable as they took set number one 25-12. Northern Colorado couldn't get anything going versus the ferocious attack and looked to recoup in the second.
And that they did as they fought tooth and nail, maintaining the lead in the majority of the set. Despite a 5-0 late to tie it at 24 apiece, the Bengals would ultimately surrender the set 28-26 on a heroic comeback attempt.
Tied at 1's, the third set would be an important one as both teams battled for the match lead. Idaho State came out swinging in this one, opening with a 7-3 lead over the Bears fueled by the cannon of
Jamie Streit.
Northern Colorado would proceed to go on a 7-1 run, taking the lead and ultimately the set despite the best efforts from
Jenna Werbelow.
Down 2-1 and faced with elimination, the Bengals rallied in the fourth on the back of strong defense and impressive digging on the Bears kill attempts. Idaho State would end up taking the pivotal set 25-17 to send it to the fifth.
The Bengals could smell blood in the water in the final set, holding and maintaining a decisive lead over Northern Colorado, ultimately winning the hard-fought set 15-12 to go 2-0 on both the weekend and in conference.
The future of the 2024 season looks bright for Idaho State. Coach Carter had this to say after the monumental two-win week: "2 hard fought wins against two really tough teams. If we can continue to play and execute our skills at this level, we can compete to be one of the best teams in this league. 4 players with 13 kills to beat UNC on the road tells us all we need to know. We are playing as a TEAM!"
Up Next
Idaho State will return home to home sweet home for their next slate of conference games as they take on the Montana State Bobcats Thursday, October 3
rd at 7:00 pm and Montana on Saturday, October 5
th at 2:00 pm.
Bengal Bites
- The 11-3 start is the best opening to a season for the Bengals since 1987.
- Idaho State continues to dominate at the net, leading the NCAA in team blocks with 177.
- Four Bengals totaled 13 kills versus UNC (Streit, Bluth, Robarge, Bell).
- Meline Robarge earns nomination of offensive player of the week with 26 kills, a .491 kill percentage, 15 digs, and 8 total blocks.
