Sven Alskog
Sports Editor
Overall Record: 23-10
Conference Record: 13-3
Finish: Big Sky Runner-Up
Under first year Head Coach Rick Reynolds, the Idaho State volleyball team had another successful season, falling just short of the goal of winning the conference tournament title set at the beginning of the season with a 3-0 straight set loss in the championship to Northern Arizona.
The Big Sky conference tournament was hosted this year by NAU in Flagstaff, with the Bengals taking their quarterfinal contest 3-2 over Eastern Washington, advancing to the title match with a 3-1 defeat of in-state rival Idaho.
In the championship match ISU played the Lumberjacks tough, falling 28-26, 25-18, 25-23.
NAU will now play in the NCAA tournament set to begin on Dec. 4.
It was the fourth consecutive trip to the conference title match for ISU.
For the Bengals, the strong season was recognized with four players named to All-Conference teams.
Tressa Lyman, Kenzie Filer and Hayley Farrer all took home First Team All-Conference honors, while Bailey Bars received a Second Team All-Conference selection.
Lyman led the Bengals with 488 kills on the season, while Filer had 304 on the campaign. Farrer set her teammates up with an assist 1,299 times, good for second in the conference.
Janae Vander Ploeg of NAU was named Big Sky MVP, along with conference tournament MVP for her efforts.
With Filer, Lyman and fellow senior Kaitlyn Johnson all set to graduate, ISU saw plenty from those who will return this season to give a positive glimpse into what the future might hold.
Another Lyman, Riley, will combine with Farrer and Bars to lead the way in 2016, along with Chloe Hirst and Nicole Breidenbach.
Sommer Reeder and Marissa Todd will help fill the void left by Filer in the middle moving forward. Reeder will be entering her senior season, while Todd will be a junior. Both bring good height to the middle for ISU.
