GREELEY, Colo.—The Vandals got off to a strong start at Northern Colorado on Thursday, but were unable to contain the Bears inside the Bank of Colorado Arena. Idaho opened with a first-set win but was unable to contain UNC, 23-25, 25-14, 25-23, 25-16.

The Vandals opened the night behind the play of Haylee Mathis. The sophomore, coming off her first triple-double, hit .500 percent on the attack with four kills in the set. Mathis and Kaela Straw helped the Vandals to a 4-0 run, gaining a 9-7 lead. Idaho, with help from Mathis again, extended the Vandal lead to 17-12 late. The Bears, using a 3-0 run, cut the Idaho lead to 20-18. Mathis closed out the frame for Idaho, 25-23, gaining the early advantage.   

"I thought we came out ready to play," head coach Debbie Buchanan explained. "Obviously they made a lot more errors than they are used to and we were able to get game one."

Northern Colorado (16-9, 10-3 BSC) flipped the tables on Idaho in the second set. The Bears hit a match-high .303 percent, limiting their errors to three on the attack after nine in the first set. Four extended runs from the Bears helped UNC gain the momentum. The final run of the set, a 7-0 push, clinched the set for the bears, 25-14.

Idaho (9-16, 4-9 BSC) controlled the early portion of the third set, opening with a 3-0 run. The Vandals led 8-5, before UNC ran off three straight points to tie the match. The Bears and Vandals each took turns with the lead in latter portion of the set. Idaho used a 3-0 run to gain a 22-20 advantage. UNC scored five of the last six points to take set and the 2-1 lead.

"We just did not execute like we needed to in game two," Buchanan added. "We battled though. We had a 22-20 lead in third. We got some one-on-one opportunities, we just did not execute at the end of that game."

The Bears gained an early 11-6 lead in the fourth and never looked back. UNC used a 4-0 run to extend the lead to 19-11, putting the set out of reach.

Straw closed the nigh with 12 kills to lead the Vandals. Mathis finished with seven kills, a team-high 16 assists and six digs. Becca Mau added eight kills, while Sarah Sharp and Torrin Crawford each totaled five each.   

Kim Weissmann led the match with 16 kills. Alex Kloehn and Timarie Nymeyer also finished in double figures with 14 and 10 kills, respectively.

Idaho remains tied with Weber State for eighth in the Big Sky standings. The Wildcats lost to Northern Arizona on Thursday. Idaho will travel to North Dakota on Saturday, while WSU will take on Southern Utah.

Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Idaho volleyball by following the team on twitter, @IdahoVolleyball.