Jenna Larson
Idaho State University Sports Information
GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The Idaho State volleyball team fell in three sets at North Dakota Thursday evening at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in Grand Forks, N.D. The Bengals fell 25-22, 27-25 and 25-16, giving the Fighting Hawks the 3-0 sweep.
Idaho State (8-14, 5-4 BSC) was led by senior outside hitter Marissa Dance with nine kills and six digs while senior outside hitter Chloe Hirst added eight kills to reach 1,000 career kills to go along with 17 digs. Sophomore libero Haylie Keck finished with 33 digs to smash the previous three-set match digs record of 24, set by Kylee Sessions on Nov. 30, 2013 against Portland State.
“I thought we played really high-level volleyball, but UND played better longer,” Head Coach Rick Reynolds. “We made some adjustments and it changed the pace of the match and created some opportunities for us.”
After a slow start in the first set, ISU stormed back from a 17-10 deficit, outscoring North Dakota (22-4, 6-2 BSC) 10-5 to cut the Fighting Hawks’ lead to two, 22-20. UND responded with two straight kills to lead 24-20, but a UND attacking error coupled with a big kill from junior outside hitter Abby Garrity brought the Bengals within two once more, 24-22. North Dakota ended ISU’s first-set comeback with a kill from Faith Dooley for the 25-22 first set win.
The momentum shifted in favor of the Bengals in the second set, as ISU took an early 7-3 lead with four Bengal kills and an ace courtesy of Keck. Midway through the first set, the Bengals still held a solid five-point lead, 12-7, but a 3-0 run from UND cut ISU’s lead to two, 12-10. Idaho State responded and held a three-point lead late in the set, 20-17, but three-straight ISU errors tied the set 20-all. ISU and UND battled back and forth as there were four ties and three lead changes. With the set tied 25-all, UND recorded two straight points to earn the 27-25 second set win.
In the final set, the Bengals struggled to connect, hitting -.114 while UND recorded 7.0 total blocks in the set. Four-straight UND kills broke a 7-all tie and put ISU behind 11-7. Idaho State continued to attack and two straight kills from Dance brought the Bengals back within three, 14-11, yet that is the closest the Bengals would come. UND capitalized on 12 third-set ISU hitting errors to take the third set 25-16.
“We have shown we can play with anyone in our conference,” Reynolds said. “I look forward to seeing us continue to grow tomorrow as we prepare for UNC.”
Idaho State continues play on the road at Northern Colorado Saturday, Oct. 21 at 6 p.m. in Greeley, Colo.
