Denim Millward
Sports Editor
The last time the Idaho State Bengal volleyball team won a conference championship, George H.W. Bush was president, Dances With Wolves was the number one movie at the box office and none of the current volleyball roster had even been born yet.
Saturday, Nov. 8 at Reed Gym, that changed.
With two more games still to go in the regular season, the Bengals clinched the Big Sky Conference regular season championship by breezing past Sacramento State 3-0. Not only did the win clinch the regular season crown for Idaho State, it also confirmed the Big Sky Conference tournament will be held on the Bengals’ home court in Pocatello.
“It is definitely one of our goals,” Head Coach Chad Teichert said to ISU Sports Information regarding winning the regular season championship. “None of these girls were alive the last time it happened so it’s a pretty big deal.”
The Bengals (13-1 in conference, 19-8 overall) held the Hornets (2-12 in conference, 7-22 overall) to .115 attack percentage in their three-set match, winning the sets 25-19, 25-22 and 25-18, respectively.
Makenzie Filer led the way for Idaho State with 13 kills and six block assists. Outside hitter Tressa Lyman chipped in six kills and three blocks, and Alydia Fields-Grimm netted five kills and a block.
As a team, the Bengals tallied a .194 hitting percentage and six aces.
“One of the things that is really special about our team is we have so many different players that are crucial,” senior middle blocker Whitney Bartschi-Harrington said to ISU Sports Information. “If someone has an off night, we have three, four or five other people that pick up the slack have their back.”
Prior to the contest, which was the final regular season home game for the Bengals, four seniors from the team were honored for their accomplishments: middle blocker Bartschi-Harrington, outside hitter Amy Sorensen, libero Kylee Sessions and outside hitter Fields-Grimm.
“Ever since my freshman year we have had the goal of winning the regular season,” Fields-Grimm said to ISU Sports Information. “It feels good to finally get it.”
The team will close out the season with back-to-back road games, heading to Missoula, Montana Nov. 13 for a game against the Montana Grizzlies and then travelling to Ogden, Utah Nov. 15 for the regular season finale against the Weber State Wildcats.
Coach Teichert’s squad will then have five days off from game play before the Big Sky Conference Tournament kicks off.
The tournament will be held Nov.20 through Nov. 22 at Reed Gym.
Because the regular season has not yet concluded, the seeding for the conference tournament has yet to be determined.
North Dakota (11-3 in conference, 23-8 overall) currently leads the North Divison of the Big Sky Conference.
Northern Arizona (10-4 in conference, 19-6 overall) is second to ISU in the South Division.
