Oct. 20, 2009

Match Notes: Portland State and Eastern Washington

Pocatello, ID--Idaho State (9-11, BSC 3-5) opens the second round of conference play as they look for an upset against top-seeded Portland State and Eastern Washington on the road. The Bengals are tied for sixth place in the Big Sky rankings with Northern Arizona and Weber State. Portland State (12-7, BSC 6-2) will host the Bengals on Friday, October 23 at 8 p.m. in the Peter W. Stott Center. Then the Bengals will head to Eastern Washington on Saturday, October 24 at 8 p.m. at Reese Court.

Live stats and video broadcast are available for both matches. Live video broadcasts can be found via B2TV at www.bigskytv.org. Live stats can be found at the prospective university athletic websites.

Idaho State has gone on a winning and losing see-saw since the Bengals road sweep against Montana and Montana State. The Bengals have since posted a 2-3 record and are 4-3 in their last seven matches. Idaho State is being out-hit .210 to ISU's .199 attack percentage in conference play. The Bengals have continued to struggle on the block as they have been out blocked in every Big Sky match but Northern Arizona where each team recorded eight blocks.

The Bengals excel and struggle in the defensive department as the Bengals are ranked last in the Big Sky in blocks averaging 1.44 per set and they post the second best dig percentage averaging 16.41 per set. Redshirt senior Paige Palmer leads the Big Sky Conference in digs per set averaging 4.66 in conference play. Both Emily Waldron and Jaclyn Hone's kill average ranks in the top-ten in the Big Sky.

ISU is tied for sixth in the conference with a 3-5 record having defeated Northern Arizona, Montana and Montana State, all on the road. The Bengals are 3-2 on the road in conference play. Eastern Washington, Portland State and Northern Colorado all lead the Big Sky with a 6-2 record in conference. An upset to any of the top three teams is a possibility as all three teams haven fall to at least one lower ranked team.

Outside hitter Waldron leads the Bengals in kills averaging 3.28 per set. She averages the third most digs on the team with three. She leads the Bengals in points with 115 earned in the Big Sky and has posted 259.5 this season. Waldron leads the Bengals in double-doubles with nine while sophomore Hone has posted seven.

Junior outside hitter Haylee Thompson averages 2.66 kills per set with a .161 attack percentage in Big Sky Play. Thompson has recorded 17 blocks this season in conference, the second most on the team. Junior Sarah Carson leads the Bengals in blocks averaging 0.81 per set in Big Sky play. She has recorded 26 this season with two being solo blocks. Carson is also consistent on the attack posting a .246 hitting percentage while averaging 1.31 kills per set.

Libero Palmer is on her way to recording 1,000-career digs as she posts 961 currently. She needs just 39 more digs to reach the mark. The redshirt senior posted 503 digs last season to capture the all-time single season record at Idaho State. She has had six 20-plus dig matches this season, including a season high 25 against Northern Colorado. She is on a 15-match double-figure dig streak, which is the longest streak in conference play.

Portland State and Eastern Washington are tied for first in the Big Sky conference rankings with a 6-2 record, posting 12-7 overall. The Vikings have won 10 of their last 12 matches. The team comes off a straight set victory over Northern Arizona and average 15.03 kills and 2.41 blocks per set. The Vikings are led by Whitney Phillis who leads the conference in points and kills. Portland State's Erica Jepsen leads the Big Sky in blocks averaging 1.53 per set and Nique Fradella leads the conference in assists per set with 11.10.

The Eagles opened the Big Sky with a seven-match win streak then dropped two contests against Portland State and Northern Arizona, but snapped back with a four set victory over Northern Colorado. Eastern Washington leads the Big Sky in holding its opponents to a .166 attack percentage. They post the second best block average with 2.68 per set. The Eagles are led by Hayley Hills who averages 3.75 kills per set with a .155 attack percentage. Sara Todorovich leads the Eagles by averaging 1.10 blocks per set.