Sven Alskog

Sports Editor

To say it was a good week for Bengal Volleyball would be a bit of an understatement after five straight victories in which the unit allowed just one set win for opponents.

Straight-set wins over Cal State Northridge in Salt Lake, Utah Valley at home, as well as Northwestern and Texas A&M Corpus Christi in Boise have made it a hot start under new Head Coach Rick Reynolds.

The Bengals also took a match 3-1 over cross-state rival Boise State as part of what was a three match sweep in the Boise State Invitational.

After starting the 2015 season 0-2 with losses to Utah and Lipscomb, the response has been strong for ISU.

A tough early-season schedule has been designed to test the unit and prepare the team for Big Sky Conference action. The Bengals are reigning regular season champions and were picked in the preseason coaches poll to repeat.

After the Boise State Invitational, Reynolds was pleased with the performance of his group.

“The team had a really good weekend,” the head man told ISU Sport Information. “Our effort was high and we were able to execute at a high enough level to be successful.”

Seeing a variety of quality competition helped the Bengals to find areas to improve on as the year goes on.

“This tournament taught us the importance of valuing every rally and opportunity we get. We need to value each touch and take responsibility when given the opportunity to perform our skills,” said Reynolds after the Texas A&M Corpus Christi victory.