Jenna Larson
Idaho State University Sports Information
POCATELLO, Idaho – The Idaho State volleyball team swept visiting Idaho 3-0 Thursday night in the inaugural Battle of the Domes match in Reed Gym. The Bengals bested the Vandals by scores of 25-19, 26-24 and 25-20.
“I’m proud of the team,” Head Coach Rick Reynolds said. “I thought it was a great night, and I thought we executed well offensively. I also thought we serve-received pretty well…I thought we touched a lot of balls at the net tonight that created opportunities for us.”
Idaho State (10-14, 7-4 BSC) was also extremely efficient hitting, posting its second-best hitting percentage of the season at .426. Of the seven players that attempted a hit, all finished with at least a .300 hitting percentage or better. Outside hitters Abby Garrity and Chloe Hirst led the squad with 12 kills apiece and finished with six and eight digs respectively, while sophomore middle blocker Brooke Pehrson finished with a solid line with eight kills hitting .412 with two solo blocks and three block assists. Senior setter Makayla Lundin added 38 assists and seven digs, while sophomore libero Haylie Keck added a match-high 15 digs.
“We were super aggressive,” Hirst said. “From point one, we brought the energy and we attacked every ball. We pushed and had that passion.”
The Bengals opened the first set with a big kill from Garrity to set the pace, the Idaho (12-10, 7-4 BSC), matched Idaho State, trading nearly point-for-point through the first half of the match. With the set tied 14-all, the Bengals put together back-to-back kills to gain the two-point advantage. The Bengals held their lead and capitalized on two consecutive Idaho hitting errors to take a 21-17 lead. ISU registered three kills in the closing plays to seal the 25-19 first set win.
In the second set, despite hitting .351 for 17 kills with just four errors, the Bengals could not gain much of an advantage against the Vandals. Idaho finished the set with 19 kills hitting .341, but the Bengals countered with solid defense, producing 17 digs and 2.0 blocks. The set featured 18 ties and eight lead changes, and neither team led by more than three points. With the set tied 24-all, two consecutive Idaho hitting errors gave the Bengals the 26-24 win.
Coming out of the break, Idaho State raced out to a 7-2 lead behind three-straight kills from senior Marissa Dance. Midway through the set, the Bengals earned a seven-point lead, 17-10, but two Idaho kills coupled with a Bengal hitting error cut ISU’s lead to five, 18-13. The Vandals would again cut into the Bengals’ lead with back-to-back kills to come within four, 21-17, but Idaho State battled back, outscoring the Vandals 4-3 to earn the 25-20 win and 3-0 match sweep.
“It was a big game,” Hirst said. “It always feels good to beat an in-state rival, especially when they are in our same conference. This was a satisfying win, to say the least.”
Idaho was led by Sarah Sharp with a match-high 18 kills hitting .452 while Haylee Mathis added a match-high 45 assists.
Idaho State continues play on the road at Weber State Saturday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m.
