Jenna Larson
Idaho State University Sports Information
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Idaho State volleyball team fell in three sets at Portland State in its conference-opener Thursday evening. The Vikings took the match 25-15, 25-13 and 25-19.
The Bengals struggled to terminate offensively, connecting for 30 kills of 111 attempts with 19 errors to hit .099 for the match, while the Vikings swung for 45 kills of 103 attempts with just nine errors to hit .350. Idaho State (3-11, 0-1 BSC) was led by both senior Chloe Hirst and junior Abby Garrity who each finished with nine kills, while sophomore Haylie Keck finished with a match-high tying 15 digs.
The Bengals opened the first set with a big kill from Garrity, but Portland State (10-3, 1-0 BSC) quickly responded with a kill from Parker Webb. The two squads traded kills once more, but three straight points from the Vikings broke the 2-all tie to give PSU the 5-2 lead. The Bengals closed the gap with a kill from senior Marissa Dance coupled with a PSU hitting error to cut the lead to one, 5-4, but another kill from the Vikings distanced PSU by two, 6-4.
Idaho State would cut the lead to on twice more over the next three plays, but a 6-0 Vikings run followed to give PSU the 13-6 lead. Idaho State outscored Portland State 8-4 to cut the lead to three, 17-14, but the Bengals were unable to bridge the gap. The Vikings finished the first set on an 8-1 run to claim the 25-15 first set win.
The Bengals started the second set off identically to the first, with a kill from Garrity. Keck followed it up with a service ace to give ISU a 2-0 lead to start. But Portland State was nearly unstoppable offensively in the second set, hitting .500 for 14 kills off 26 attempts with just one error, and they quickly took a 6-3 lead. Three-straight points from the Bengals tied the set 6-all, but Portland State put together a menacing 12-3 run to take an 18-9 advantage. The Bengals would come no closer as the Vikings finished for a 25-13 second set win.
In the third and final set, Idaho State forced Portland State to its worst offensive output of the evening as the Vikings hit .250 for 14 kills and four errors. But it was not enough to offset the hot-hitting Vikings. With the set tied 14-all following a kill from freshman Taylor Meeks, PSU recorded three-straight points to gain the 17-14 advantage. Idaho State was unable to counter, and the Vikings continued on for the 25-19 third set win and 3-0 match win.
“You’ve got to give credit to Portland State; they played really well tonight,” Head Coach Rick Reynolds said. “The outcome of this match fall entirely on me, and it is up to me to make sure we grow from this experience. We will continue to work hard toward improving every single day.”
Portland State was led by Parker Webb with a match-high 13 kills off 19 attempts with just one error to hit .632 for the evening, while Erin Clark finished with a match-high 36 assists. Mikaelyn Sych led the Vikings defensively with seven block assists while Tasha Bojanic added 15 digs.
Idaho State continues play on the road at Sacramento State Sept. 24 at 2 p.m. MST.
