Sept. 2, 2009

Game Notes: ASU Sheraton Classic

Pocatello, ID--The undefeated Bengals (3-0) head to Tempe, Ariz. to compete in the ASU Sheraton Classic hosted by the Sun Devils for ISU's second tournament of the season. Idaho State will play two matches during the first day of the tournament on Friday, September 4, opening against Texas-El Paso (3-0) at 11 a.m. MT followed by Charleston Southern (3-2) at 6 p.m. MT at the Wells Fargo Arena. The Bengals will play tournament host Arizona State (2-1) on the final day of competition on Saturday, September 5 at 2 p.m. MT. Live stats will be available at www.thesundevils.com.

The Bengals opened their season with a sweep at the UniWyo Cowgirl Classic to start the year with a tournament title. The last time ISU began a season 3-0 was in 1999. ISU overcame South Dakota State, Rutgers and tournament host Wyoming for its first tournament title since 2005. The Bengals had three players named to the all-tournament team including Karissa Legaux, Jaclyn Hone and tournament MVP Emily Waldron. All three players earned their first all-tournament honors. Waldron was named Big Sky Co-Player of the week in the first honors of the season for her performance in the UniWyo Cowgirl Classic. In the tournament the Bengals posted a .203 attack percentage while holding their opponents to just a .087 hitting percentage. The Bengals average 12.5 kills and 19 blocks per set.

Legaux recorded 48 assists in ISU's first contest helping the Bengals defeat South Dakota State 3-1. She averages 11.45 assists per set. Hone posted two matches with double-figures in kills recording 15 against South Dakota State and Wyoming each. She averages 3.55 kills per set.

Last season the Bengals were 1-11 on the road and 2-5 in neutral matches. It took ISU nine matches to capture two neutral victories and twenty matches to win one on the road last season. ISU has completely turned around this year and have already captured a road win and two neutral wins in its first three contests.

Britta Bartschi-Rhodehouse posted a career-high five service aces against South Dakota State. She also posted four aces against Rutgers and one against Wyoming to give her 10 aces for the tournament. Bartschi-Rhodehouse now leads the Big Sky Conference in aces averaging 0.91 per set. Idaho State leads the Big Sky Conference in holding its opponents to a low hitting percentage as they post a .087 attack percentage. The next closest program is Sacramento State who has held its opponents to a .151 attack percentage.

Redshirt senior Paige Palmer posted a 15-match dig streak where she posted double-figures, going all the way back to October 11, 2008 in a home contest against Northern Colorado where she recorded 13 digs. Palmer's double-figure streak also included a six-match dig streak where she recorded 20-plus digs in a row, going all the way back to November 7, 2008 in a home contest against Sacramento State where she posted 25 digs. During her streak Palmer posted a career-high 27 digs against Northern Colorado on the road in 2008. Palmer's streak ended when she was just two digs shy of a double-figure when she recorded eight against Rutgers this season in the UniWyo Cowgirl Classic. However, one match later she was back in double-figures with 12 digs against Wyoming.

Senior Emily Waldron

In his first season with the Bengals, head coach Chad Teichert led ISU to a 10-20 overall record and a 5-11 Big Sky record, ISU's best performance since 2006. He also led the Bengals to a 7-4 home record (.636). This season Teichert begins with a 3-0 record from ISU's first tournament. He improves his career record in wins after leading in the first set to 10-2 (.833).

The Miners head to the ASU Sheraton Classic undefeated like the Bengals with a 3-0 record, however UTEP swept all three of its matches in straight sets. The Miners claimed the 2009 Sun Bowl Invitational Title to capture its first Sun Bowl Victory since its inaugural season in 2005. The Miners hosted the tournament. Amy Sanders was named MVP and outside hitter Catherine Chavez and setter Patty Jarmoc earned all-tournament honors as well. The Miners post a .203 attack percentage as a team and are averaging 12.5 kills per set. Last season UTEP posted an 8-24 overall record and took 11th in the Conference USA with a 3-13 record. UTEP leads Idaho State 4-3. In their last meeting Idaho State defeated UTEP 3-1 in 1984.

Charleston Southern has gone back-and-forth in its 3-2 season. They opened the season with a 3-1 win over Davidson before falling to North Carolina State 3-0 on the road in the N.C. State Tournament. The Lady Bucs then defeated Morgan State 3-0, but fell in five sets to Campbell. The Lady Bucs come off a 3-0 victory over Savannah State on Tuesday, crushing the team 25-5, 25-6, 25-18. The Bucs are led by outside hitter Amanda Hill who averages 3.44 kills per set and Cori Holeman who averages 2.72. Tricia Rodl and Amanda Hill lead the back row averaging 4.06 and 3.11 digs per set respectively. Hill also posts a .265 attack percentage. It is ISU and CSU's first meeting.

The Sun Devils host the ASU Sheraton Classic tournament after a 2-1 start to the season in the Utah Classic. Arizona State is on a two-match winning streak. The Sun Devils come off overcoming Cincinnati in five sets and UC Riverside in three. Arizona State opened the season with a 3-0 loss to Utah. The Sun Devils out-block their opponents 40.5 to 26.5 averaging 2.9 blocks per set. ASU is led by Sarah Reaves and Sofie Schlagintweit as they post 2.89 and 2.27 kills per set. Five Sun Devils already post double-figures in blocks.