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OGDEN, Utah (October 21, 2016) – On a night with seemingly no room for error, Idaho State and Northern Colorado each showed the grit need for some key five-set wins in Big Sky volleyball play Friday.
Two of the hottest teams in the Big Sky were pitted against each other in Idaho State and North Dakota, and the matchup didn’t disappoint. The Bengals outlasted the Fighting Hawks 3-2 for their sixth straight win while also snapping UND’s six-match winning streak.
Minutes later, Northern Colorado also hung on for a five-set win over Weber State. The victory moved UNC to 7-2 and atop the north division, as the Bears currently hold a tiebreaker over North Dakota.
Big Sky volleyball action resumes Saturday with six more matches slated.
Idaho State 3, North Dakota 2: Idaho State used an all-around effort from its starters to rally from two sets down and knock off division and league leader North Dakota 3-2.
The Bengals (11-11, 6-3 Big Sky) hit .176 for the match with 70 kills while moving to 6-3 after starting league play 0-3. Reigning Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week Hayley Farrer was two kills from a triple-double with eight kills, 55 assists and 20 digs. Abby Jensen (18 kills, 13 digs), Marissa Todd (17, 18) and Chloe Hirst (16, 22) each recorded double-doubles while Haylie Keck tied for a match-high 24 digs.
North Dakota (15-9, 7-2) picked up the early momentum taking the first two sets narrowly. UND led 24-21 in the opening set, and despite ISU fending off three straight set points, the Fighting Hawks were able to hang on after two straight kills from Ashley Brueggeman. UND worked towards a 20-15 lead in the second and went on to win 25-22 after a kill from Chelsea Moser.
ISU returned from the break strong, taking the next two sets convincingly. The Bengals hit .300 in the third set, jumping to an 11-2 lead and taking the set 25-18. ISU hit .250 and held UND to a negative percentage in a dominant 25-14 fourth set to force a fifth.
In the fifth set, UND moved to multiple two-point leads before ISU fought back to take a 14-13 lead after two UND attack errors. The Fighting Hawks staved off a match point to tie it at 14-14, but Farrer set up kills for Todd and Hirst to claim the thrilling 16-14 victory and stake claim to the longest current winning streak in the Big Sky.
The Fighting Hawks had an 18-11 blocking advantage, but hit just .119 with 32 attack errors. Tamara Merseli had 16 kills with 14 digs, Faith Dooley grabbed 13 blocks and Sydney Griffin finished with seven kills, 41 assists, 20 digs and seven blocks.
Northern Colorado 3, Weber State 2: Kortney Lockey had 24 kills, Ashley Guthrie registered a triple-double with 60 assists, 10 kills and 14 digs to help Northern Colorado fight past Weber State.
The Bears (13-8, 7-2) hit .262 for the match with 79 kills. Kim Weissmann (13), Alex Kloehn (13) and Emily O’Neil (10) were three of five Bears to reach double-figure kills on the night. Guthrie earned her second career triple-double and became the second player in the league to record one this season along with Northern Arizona setter Jensen Barton.
Lockey had 11 kills in the opening set alone, helping UNC to a 25-17 victory to start off the match. WSU responded pushing to a 21-16 lead in the second and using a pair of UNC errors after the Bears had fended off six straight set points to tie the set at 24-24. UNC hit .429 in the third set, riding to leads of 10-4, 16-9 and ultimately taking the set 25-20.
Weber State (13-5, 4-5) responded with a strong hitting showing of its own, with a .444 percentage in the fourth as the Wildcats used a 5-0 spurt to go up 16-10 and eventually force a fifth set. In a back-and-forth final frame, O’Neil and Lockey set up match point with kills to make it 14-12. WSU would hang on and tie the match after a UNC service error and a block from Andrea Hale and Aubrey Sanders. Lockey’s 24
th kill set up match point again for the Bears, and WSU’s ensuing attack went just wide to give UNC the 16-14 victory.
The Wildcats held a strong advantage blocking 19-7, but were also held to .230 hitting. Megan Thompson totaled 11 kills and 10 blocks, Amanda Varley added 17 kills and Thamires Cavalcanti had a match-high 21 digs.