Steven Murillo
Staff Writer
Before the Idaho Central Credit Union Big Sky Conference Tournament, the Bengal Women’s Volleyball team won prevailed as regular-season Big Sky Conference Champions. However, the Bengals would leave the tournament as the runners-up, losing the final tournament match 3-0 to the University of Northern Colorado.
The Bengals came in and put on big performances for the home-crowd fans after winning the rights to host the tournament at home as regular-season champions, fighting their way past Southern Utah University and Northern Arizona University to make it to the championship match alongside the UNC Bears.
The first match of the tournament for the Bengal women consisted of ISU convincingly defeating the SUU Thunderbirds in 3 sets on Thursday, Nov. 20.
Then, in the semi-final match against NAU on Friday, Nov. 21, the Bengals fought their way through a tough near-upset.
NAU was up two sets early on against the number-one seeded Bengal women and, to many, the game appeared over for ISU.
However, the Bengals came out defiantly in the face of their elimination and won a set to keep their tournament-championship hopes alive.
Then with the game on the line again, late in the set a crucial call was made for a point going to ISU instead of NAU, leaving the opposing coaches and players furious as the crowd waited to find out the final verdict.
The two teams battled for each point until ISU finally came out ahead by two points to finish the fourth set 28-26, Bengals. This tied the match and forced a fifth and deciding set, which ISU won handily 15-10.
The home crowd roared with pleasure and relief at the home team victory.
“That’s a great team we beat,” said Bengal volleyball head coach Chad Teichert to ISU Sports Information. “Their coach is a class act and they have some super kids.”
The Nov. 22 championship match would not be so lucky for ISU, as they faced a dominant and determined UNC team, a team that has been to the conference tournament championship match five times in the past six years.
ISU lost the game in three straight sets. The Bengal squad showed some life in the second set, and ultimately went down fighting after being stopped by a very strong blocking team in UNC.
Head coach Lyndsey Oates of the UNC Bears was awarded the Big Sky Coach of the Year award on Nov. 28. This was her third time being awarded this honor in her career.
Even though the Bengals were out-matched by the Bears in the final, outside hitter and regular-season Big Sky Conference MVP Tressa Lyman and Bengal captain and libero Kylie Sessions played with unstoppable individual performances throughout the tournament.
Sessions played with ferocious determination to keep her team in the game, making seemingly impossible digs and saves for her team. In the match against NAU alone Sessions had 25 digs.
Lyman played an individual performance as strong as ever, contributing 12 kills in the final match and 19 kills and 11 digs, a double-double, against NAU.
Bengal setter Hayley Farrer also had a double-double with an impressive 61 assists and 12 digs.
“It’s hard to see it end like this,” said Sessions to ISU Sports Information. “The support from the crowd this week is something I will never forget. We just have to remember the positive things we accomplished this season and the memories we built with our teammates.”
With several seniors including Sessions, Alydia Fields-Grimm, Whitney Bartschi-Harrington and Amy Sorensen moving on after this year, the team will need to find a new core of leaders.
Juniors like Lyman and Mackenzie Filer will likely look to see much more spotlight after this year as they move into their senior season.
The tournament champions, the UNC Bears, earned their spot in the NCAA tournament that begins Friday, Dec. 5.
