Written by ISU's Jon Match:
POCATELLO, Idaho – Idaho State volleyball hits the road this week for a pivotal set of Big Sky Conference matches.
Game one the Bengals head to Portland State to take on the Vikings Thursday, Oct. 28 at 8 p.m. MT. The Bengals then head to Sacramento to take on the Hornets Saturday, Oct. 30 at 8 p.m. MT.
Both matches will be broadcast on ESPN+ and livestats will be available for both matches.
Links to media can be found by clicking above over visiting ISUBengals.com
Bengal Bites
Dani Devlin is leading the team in attacking with 90 kills on 216 attacks for a .306 hitting %
Jamie Streit leads the team in Kills per set with an average of 2.72
Sadie Bluth leads the team in total kills with 210
Assist Battle- Andri Dewey leads the team in Assists with 400 total averaging 5.00/set. Aliyah Sopoaga trails behind with 338 assists and a 4.57 Assist/set average. Both setters have an above. .300 percentage as well.
I Dig it - Asiah Sopoaga is leading the team in digs with 268 and is averaging 3.62/set. She is ranked 8th in digs per set in the conference standings
Block Stars - Kaia Rhodes and Dani Devlin lead the team with 70 and 53 total blocks respectively. Rhodes is averaging .80 blocks per set and Devlin is at .63 blocks/set.
Streit is leading the team in points with 3.18 points per set and Sadie Bluth is following just behind at 3.12 points per set.
The Bengals five-set reverse Sweep against Sac State on Sept. 30 was the first against a conference opponent since the 2017 season.
The 18 total blocks against Sac State set a season high for the Bengals and was the highest for a Bengal squad since Oct. 2017.
The Bengals win at Montana marked the 6th match in a row that the Bengals have won in Missoula.
The Bengals .242 attack Percentage against Northern Colorado was a season high. The Bengals also had a season high 36 kills in three sets against the Bears.
Quick Scout and Series History – Portland State
Portland State is 14-7 on the season and currently in second place in the Big Sky standings with an 8-2 conference record.
The Vikings are coming off of a 3-1 victory over Northern Colorado where, although being outhit and killed by the bears, pulled off the victory.
The Vikings are ranked 3rd in Opponent hitting percentage holding opponents to a .187 percentage average. The Bengals are ranked just behind in 4th with a .196 opponent average.
PSU is ranked first in the conference in kills and assists on the defensive side of the ball. The Vikings are also ranked first in digs averaging 16.88 digs per set.
Parker Webb leads the Vikings offensively averaging 3.79 kills per set with 252 total kills this season.
Defensively, Ellie Snook leads the team and the conference, averaging 5.49 digs per set.
The Vikings lead the overall series with the Bengals 39-26. In Portland, the Bengals are 11-20 against PSU.
Earlier this season, the Vikings defeated the Bengals 3-1.
In the Previous 10 matches the Bengals are 4-6 against the Vikings.
11/12/2016 A L 0-3
* 09/21/2017 A L 0-3
* 11/11/2017 H L 0-3
* 10/13/18 A W 3-2
* 11/08/18 H W 3-0
* 10/12/19 H W 3-2
* 11/16/19 A W 3-2
3/19/21 A L 0-3
3/20/21 A L 0-3
9/25/21 H L 1-3
Quick Scout and Series History – Sacramento State
The Hornets are 11-10 this season with a 5-5 Big Sky conference record. The Hornets are on a three-game winning streak, coming off of three-straight sweeps of Portland State, Northern Colorado and non-conference Boise State.
The Hornets are strong at the net, leading the conference in blocks with 198 total blocks while averaging 2.54 blocks per set.
The Hornets average 11.85 kills per set while opponents average 12.69 kills per set.
Bridgette Smith leads the Hornets offensively, recording 3.23 kills per set with 252 total kills this season.
Defensively, Caty Cordano leads SAC with 2.80 digs per set.
The Hornets lead the all-time series 36-16 against the Bengals.
The Bengals won the previous matchup of the two programs, a 3-2 reverse sweep to open conference play in September.
In the previous 10 matches the Hornets lead 7-3 against the Bengals.
09/23/2017 A L 0-3
* 11/09/17 H L 2-3
* 10/11/18 A L 0-3
* 11/10/18 H W 3-1
! 11/22/18 N W 3-1
* 10/10/19 H L 2-3
* 11/16/19 A L 0-3
* 01/25/21 A L 0-3
* 01/26/21 A L 0-3
9/23/21 H W 3-2
