Jenna Larson
Idaho State University Sports Information
GREELEY, Colo. – The Idaho State volleyball team made quick work of Northern Colorado Saturday evening with a 3-0 sweep at the Bank of Colorado Arena in front of a crowd of 1,012. The Bengals bested the Bears 25-22, 25-24 and 25-22.
Idaho State (9-15, 6-4 BSC) was led by junior outside hitter Abby Garrity with 14 kills off 36 swings with just two errors to hit .333 while senior outside hitter Chloe Hirst added 12 kills and eight digs. Sophomore libero Haylie Keck finished with a game-high 14 digs while senior setter Makayla Lundin added a team-high 32 assists.
“This was a great team effort,” Head Coach Rick Reynolds said. “We knew it was going to be a battle to top their middles, but we executed our game plan well and served tough. We were able to serve well enough to force them to move the ball around at crucial times.”
The Bengals started off hot with a 6-1 run to open the first set, but Northern Colorado (11-12, 4-6 BSC) quickly closed the gap to tie the set 10-all, the first of five ties in the set. The Bears continued to push, and a Bears’ kill followed by an ISU hitting error put the Bengals behind 19-15. A 6-0 Bengal run, fueled by three kills and two Bengal aces, gave Idaho State the 21-19 lead. ISU closed the set on a 4-3 advantage to take the set 25-22.
In the second set, the Bengals were nearly unstoppable, connecting for 14 kills off 31 attempts with just two errors to hit .387. A kill from Brooke Pehrson broke a 3-all early tie and from there the Bengals rolled. Idaho State rattled off seven unanswered points to take a 10-3 lead and continued pushing, cruising to the 25-14 second set win.
Idaho State cooled off in the third set as they hit .200, but the Bengals were solid defensively digging nearly half of UNC’s 48 attempts with 21 total digs. Idaho State was also solid at the net with six block assists as Taylor Meeks and Lundin recorded two each. UNC took the early 4-1 lead following an ISU reception error and hitting error. Midway through the set, the Bears held a 15-12 advantage, but Idaho State put together a 8-1 run to take a 20-16 lead.
The Bears made a late run to come within one, 23-22, but ISU finished with two kills, courtesy of Marissa Dance and Hirst to close the set 25-22 and earn the 3-0 match win.
“I thought we were able to transition well, and we were able to win a lot of the long rallies,” Reynolds said. “We came up with a couple of big blocks and digs and it turned the momentum in our favor.”
Northern Colorado was led by Alex Kloehn with 15 kills while Taylor Ells added 14 digs.
Idaho State continues conference play at home against Idaho as part of the Battle of the Domes, Thursday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. at Reed Gym.
