One night after facing Portland State, the school sitting atop the Big Sky Conference, the Idaho State volleyball team took to the court Saturday against the squad at the bottom of the conference in Eastern Washington.

    The result?

    The same as it was Friday night, a straight-set win for the Bengals.

    ISU took down the Eagles 25-20, 25-17, 26-16 in Reed Gym to extend the team’s winning streak to five games.

    “We want to focus on our opponent, but we want to focus on ourselves a lot more,” Breanne Van Every said about how the team prepared for the winless Eagles. “We use our team dynamic to go out and do what we do best and I think if we go out and do that every night we will be successful.”

    While the Bengals were able to win the match, the night was far from a success. ISU let a winless Eastern Washington (0-21, 0-10 Big Sky) stay in the match a lot longer than many thought it should due in part to mistakes.

    But the Eagles made more.

    Members of the team have said numerous times this season that they want to go out and play their best match of the season every time out. When Van Every was asked if the team had played its best yet this season she replied “I don’t think so.”

    After a close first set, the Bengals began to find their rhythm to start the second.

    ISU jumped out to a 12-3 lead, forcing Eastern Washington to call a timeout.

    Idaho State’s lead swelled to nine twice in the set, which allowed head coach Chad Teichert to bring in some of his bench players.

    Kimberly Naut, Danielle Downs and Makenzie Filer each played in the final two frames, combining for six kills, four digs and two blocks.

    With the starters out, the Bengals did not miss a beat as they closed out the set, much to the delight of the 903 fans in attendance.

    Winning brings in fans and the Bengals players have noticed. Close to 2,000 attended this weekend’s matches and while many of the players were surprised with the big crowds, they all want to keep them coming back.

    “I remember going into the locker room Friday night and saying ‘wow, there are so many people here,’ and we were so grateful for the people that showed up,” Lori Mendenhall said. “We have actually played so much better with the crowds we have gotten this year and we really, really appreciate it.”

    The Bengals used the energy derived from the big crowd in the third set. The team committed just one error, out-hitting Eastern .368 to .048.

    Tressa Lyman came up just short of a double-double as she finished the night with 11 kills and nine digs.

    Van Every added eight kills and 12 digs while Mendenhall finished the night with 38 assists, seven digs and five kills.

    Not only did the victory extend the Bengals’ winning streak to five games, it also snapped a seven-game losing streak to Eastern Washington.

    ISU (15-4, 9-1) sits atop the conference standings tied with Portland State and will embark on its longest conference road trip of the season, beginning Thursday at Southern Utah.

    “I think one of our goals for the season is to play just as good on the road as we do at home,” Mendenhall said. “I think mentally we are going to get there. And we are on the road (so) we are going to act like we are at Reed Gym (because) there is not a difference. We have to come out just as strong on the road.”

    The Bengals and Thunderbirds take the court Thursday at 7 p.m. in Cedar City.