Sept. 22, 2009

Match Notes: Eastern Washington and Portland State

Pocatello, ID--Idaho State (5-6, 1-1 BSC) will host its first home matches of the season in back-to-back contests after an 11-match away streak. The Bengals will play their first home match of the season at Reed Gym against Eastern Washington (6-5, 2-0 BSC) on Friday, September 25 at 7 p.m. then ISU will host Portland State (7-5, 2-0 BSC) on Saturday, September 26 at 7 p.m. Free Live stats and internet video broadcast via B2TV can be found for both matches at the ISU athletic website. Free posters and autographs of ISU players will be given after both contests in the main lobby of Reed Gym following the matches. Fans who show their ISU vs. Central Washington football ticket at the Northern Colorado volleyball match will get in for free.

The Bengals split on the road during their first week of the conference season defeating Northern Arizona 3-1, then falling to Northern Colorado 3-1 with both competitions occurring on the road. ISU had two players post double-doubles against the Lumberjacks, Emily Waldron and Jaclyn Hone. ISU had six double-figure kill performances and five double-figure dig performances over both matches. Though the Bengals hit just a .195 attack percentage against the Lumberjacks they held NAU to a .073 percentage and posted 80 digs for the most this season.

Within eight days, from September 19 to the 26, Idaho State will play last season's three top Big Sky Conference finishers for the regular season as Northern Colorado came in third, Eastern Washington finished in first while Portland State finished in second during the regular season and went on to capture the tournament title. All three teams return their six starters and all three opponents currently hold the conference lead again as they are 2-0 in Big Sky play. ISU finished 8th last season and returns four starters.

Though ISU will be facing tough competition in the Big Sky they have stepped up themselves as they lead the Big Sky in BSC competition as they rank first in digs per set (17.62), third in hitting percentage (.203), third in assists per set (13.5), third in kills per set (14.12), and fifth in opponent hitting percentage (.162). Idaho State leads the conference for all games in service aces as they average 1.55 per set.

Head coach Teichert has led the Bengals to a 7-4 home record (.636). ISU played 11 matches on the road before returning to Reed Gym where ISU posts an all-time record of 181-148 for a .550 winning percentage. Idaho State averages 12.34 kills, 11.58 assists, 1.55 aces, 13.74 digs, and 1.43 blocks per set for the season. ISU is nearly equal with its opponents in kills and assists, but its defense is not quite equal as they are out-blocked (2.2-to-1.4) and out-dug (14.2-to-13.7). However, in Big Sky play the Bengals lead the conference in digs out-digging their opponents (17.6-to-16.9).

Eastern Washington has a 6-5 record and are currently on a two-match win streak having defeated Montana 3-1 and Montana State 3-0. The Eagles are averaging 13.14 kills per set in the Big Sky and holding their opponents to 9.71, but post just a .162 attack percentage. EWU has averaged 1.71 service aces per set, 12 in its last two matches. The Eagles are led by Hayley Hills who averaged 4.71 kills, JaNae Moretensen leads the defensive effort with 4.29 digs per set in Big Sky matches. For the season Chenoa Coviare and Sara Todorovich have averaged more than a block a set each.

They return six starters including First Team All-Conference Hills who was also named Most Valuable Player of the 2008 season. EWU also returns Second Team All-Conference Coviare and Honorable Mention Ashley Hamilton. The Eagles are led by Coach of the Year Miles Kydd helped EWU to a regular season title in his first season with Eastern Washington.

The Eagles lead the series 32-29, with the teams splitting in the 2008 season. To start the 2008 season the Bengals defeated EWU on their home court in straight sets (25-19, 25-19, 28-26), but the Eagles captured the last meeting 3-1 in Cheney to go on to a regular season title.

The Vikings post a 7-5 record and are 2-0 in conference having defeated Montana State and Montana in straight sets. The team is currently on a five-match winning streak that includes Sam Houston State, UC Davis and Nevada. PSU posts a .233 attack percentage overall and lead the conference with a .318 percentage in Big Sky play. The team averages 16.17 kills per set and 2.17 aces per set in conference play to lead the league. Setter Nique Fradella who was named MVP of the All-Tournament Team last season and has earned Player of the week twice this season. She averages 10.71 assists per set.

They return all six starters including First Team All-Conference Marija Vojnovic and Second Team Fradella. Last season Portland State captured its first-ever Big Sky Championship title.

Portland State leads the series 24-14 and swept the Bengals in the 2008 season in straight sets in both contests. The last time ISU defeated the Vikings was in 2005 at home in a five set match. Portland State is currently on a seven-match win streak.