Two more wins at home

Wow... So we tied another school record the other night...one mark that we wish we didn't get to. We played four five-set matches in a row dating back to our match against Portland State. Three weeks of five-gamers about killed me! We came out of it 3-1 which is pretty great considering that three of them were on the road, and the last one we were down 2 games to none!

Speaking of that match, Idaho State came in to play us last Thursday night.... And they came to play! They were very very good in the first two sets. We just couldn't get a ball to go down. There were frustrating two of the best hitters in the conference (Ashley and Kelley). Luckily for the rest of our team, Julie and Brittany really stepped up. Julie had a career high 17 kills and Brit added 12 of her own. Both hit in the .300's. As the match wore on, both Kelley and Ash found ways to start scoring and that put the Bangles on their heals. We came out in game three a little slow, but then decided it was time to take care of business. As the game wore on it became apparent that the Bears refused to lose the match. We worked hard and efficiently to win the match in 5. Again, credit Idaho State for some amazing defensive plays.

This marked the second time this season that we dropped the first two sets to Idaho State, then proceeded to win the match in five. We did the same at their place in September. It is like our girls need to feel that pressure before then come out and get after it... The good news is...they find ways to win. It may not always be pretty, but they find a way.

Saturday night was senior night. We had it a couple of weeks early because Ashley's mom would not have been able to make it if we had it during our last home match. It was a great night for her to be there too. Ashley got 16 kills and hit .609 on the night, which included her 1000th career kill as a Bear...only the 14th player ever to reach that mark. Abbie Howe, another senior, also had a great night posting a career high 14 digs. Our last senior, Julie Stephenson continued her great play hitting over .300 for the second night.

Ashley's 1000th kill

We had a little banquet after the match which was fun. But...it didn't quite have that senior night feel. There were several speeches, thank yous, and cards being handed around...but not a whole lot of tears. I think it is because we all know that we have a lot of work to do before we accomplish our goals. Keep an eye out...it is a great time to be a BEAR!