POCATELLO − Aspen Boice didn’t play like a freshman in her first collegiate matches with Idaho State in a weekend tournament at Wichita State. But she was surprised by one turn of events during her Bengal debut.

“I think just that the coaches aren’t going to take it easy on us just because we’re freshmen,” said Boice, the 6-foot libero from Rexburg. “And that’s good, it’s good for us, just being able to go out there and know they believe in us and they want us to do our jobs.”

Boice is one of the “Madison Mafia,” the three Madison High School alums who all played key roles in ISU’s 2-1 start to the season, with wins over the host Shockers and Stephen F. Austin, along with a loss to Missouri State.

She recorded 24 digs in the win over Stephen F. Austin, which is believed to be the most digs by a freshman in her first game in ISU history. Fellow Madison alums Mia Walsh and Nora Waddoups also played big roles in the successful start to the season. Walsh, a 6-foot-2 true freshman outside hitter, was named to the all-tournament team after recording 30 kills, 31 digs, eight blocks and two service aces, finishing the weekend with a team-high 36.5 points.

Waddoups, a 5-foot-9 sophomore setter, had a pair of double-doubles with 42 assists and 22 digs against Stephen F. Austin, and 31 assists and 14 digs in the win over Wichita State.

“They were fantastic,” said ISU coach Sean Carter of his three Bobcat alums. “The debuts of Mia and Aspen, I don’t know if we could ask for more. Mia looked like a fifth-year senior kind of player. And honestly, maybe I stink as an observer, but I didn’t realize Aspen had as many digs as she had (against Stephen F. Austin) until I looked at the box score at the end. Man, she had six digs a set, which is quite a few.”

In their win over Wichita State, who, in Carter’s words, “man-handled” the Bengals 25-9 in the first set, the three Madison alums exhibited the kind of composure that seems to be inherent in a Bobcat program that has won three state championships and finished second twice over the last five years.

“The Wichita game was a knockout, drag-out fight,” said Carter. “It was just a slugfest, it felt like, and kills were hard to come by. So that was awesome. To me it was great seeing — or not seeing, the fear of the moment and that happens a lot if you’ve never been in this scenario before.”

After a verbal dressing down by Carter, the Bengals bounced back to win the final three sets and the match against the Shockers. While Boice was a bit taken aback by Carter’s message, she certainly didn’t let it bother her play.

“He definitely got on our butts, but I think that was really good for us,” said Boice. “It helped us mentally to lock in and it definitely changed our momentum.”

“It seemed like when I got intense,” Carter said somewhat tongue-in-cheek, “Aspen was laughing at me. It was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I didn’t think he was as crazy as he is.’”

That response comes from the fact that the Madison trio all have experience in “playing in games that matter,” as Carter put it. “Which is a big reason why we recruited all of them.”

During their high school careers, the Madison girls weren’t getting the same kind of club exposure or recruiting interest as some of the other players in Idaho who were committing to Division I schools. They were just beating them in the state tournament. That didn’t go unnoticed by Carter or his wife, Chelsea, his chief assistant coach.

“These girls are winning state championships every year against a high school team that has three or four Division I commitments,” said Carter. “… We want to recruit kids that have played in matches that matter, so that when they get here, they’ve kind of been here before.”

Waddoups was the first Bobcat in the door, establishing herself as the starting setter in her freshman season, leading the Bengals in assists and service aces, and finishing second in digs. Her presence was a big recruiting draw for Walsh and Boice.

“I think it creates a really fun and competitive environment,” Waddoups said of the presence of the three Bobcats. “Especially since I’ve known these girls since I was really young, and so I think it lets us trust each other on the court, and just have an already developed relationship.”

As the “senior member” of the Madison Mafia, Waddoups has provided some counseling to the two Rexburg freshmen. “I talked a lot about the mental side of volleyball and obviously, in high school people that come to this level are the best of the best. To come in here … it’s really mentally challenging and tough to earn your spot. So, I told them to be confident in yourself, be gritty with what you have to bring to the table and the cards will play themselves out.

“And I told them,” she added, “at the end of the day, we love volleyball, so just have fun. College is a very special experience not a lot of players get to have, let alone at the D-I level, so just enjoy it and have fun.”

Walsh apparently took that advice to heart, excelling in her first collegiate experience and having a good time doing it.

“It was super fun,” she said. “It was a little nerve-racking at first, especially being a freshman going up against all these four-year, five-year college girls. But it was super fun and once we got into the swing of things, it was like I just went back to, it’s the same game pretty much. You have the same job.”