DENVER, Colo. – Idaho State volleyball earned a pair of wins at the Denver Invitational, sweeping Memphis 3–0 on Friday and defeating Texas Southern 3–1 on Thursday before falling to host Denver 0-3 on Saturday at Hamilton Gymnasium.
Recap
Match vs. Texas Southern (Sept. 4)
The Bengals opened the tournament strong with a 3–1 victory (25–10, 25–17, 25–27, 25–17). Freshman Ava Brickner set a career high with 15 kills and 34 attack attempts, leading ISU's offense. Kadence Marsh also recorded career bests with 13 kills, 30 swings, and 5 blocks. Setter Nora Waddoups handed out 44 assists, another career high, while libero Claudia Antcliff tallied a personal-best 17 digs to anchor the defense.
Match vs. Memphis (Sept. 5)
Idaho State carried its momentum into day two, sweeping Memphis 3–0 (25–18, 25–19, 25–20). Brickner added 8 kills on an efficient .467 hitting percentage, while Marci Bell chipped in 8 kills and 1 block. Brinley Smith provided a strong spark with 9 kills, her second-highest total of the season. Waddoups set a career high with 14 digs to go with 20 assists as she continued to direct the Bengals' offense.
Match vs. Denver (Sept. 6)
The Bengals closed the tournament against the host Pioneers, falling 3–0 (16–25, 17–25, 19–25). Jaydin Watts led Idaho State with 9 kills on a .500 hitting percentage, but no other Bengal recorded more than 4 kills.
Head Coach Sean Carter said he was disappointed with the team's effort against Denver, noting, "They were better in every phase of the game." Still, Carter emphasized the positives from the weekend, especially bouncing back after three tough five-set losses to open the year: "To come out and win 2 matches against two very physical teams with a lineup we hadn't trained or practiced was great to put together a successful weekend."
Carter also highlighted the contributions of the Bengals' younger players: "Nora Waddoups, Ava Brickner, Kadence Marsh and Claudia Antcliff all played bigger roles as freshmen and it was great to see them have success. We had to overcome some adversity due to injuries and illness so I am very happy leaving 2–1."
Bengal Bites
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Career Highs this weekend:
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Notable Performances:
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Big Sky Individual Rankings (as of Sept. 6):
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Watts – 1st in hitting percentage (.433).
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Bell – 1st in blocks (1.52/set); also owns league's single-match high of 12 blocks vs. CBU.
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Waddoups – 7th in assists (6.85/set).
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Brickner – 8th in service aces (0.33/set).
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Watts – tied 8th in blocks (1.00/set).
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Werbelow – 9th in digs (2.93/set).
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Big Sky Team Rankings (as of Sept. 6):
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Idaho State moves to 2–4 overall on the season.
Next Up
Idaho State heads to Boise this upcoming weekend for the Boise State Invitational. The Bengals open the tournament with the University of San Francisco on Thursday, Sept. 11th at 3:30 p.m., followed by Utah Tech on Friday, Sept. 12th at 3:30 p.m., and finished off with Boise State on Saturday, Sept. 13th at 12:00 p.m.
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