MOSCOW, Idaho—The Idaho Vandals make one final push for the Big Sky Tournament this week as the regular season comes to a close. Idaho hosts Montana and Montana State on back-to-back nights to close the season.
The Vandals currently sit ninth in the Big Sky, one spot out of the final tournament position. Idaho needs to win both Friday and Saturday to help its cause. The Vandals will also need to get help in the form of a losses by Weber State or Eastern Washington.
Saturday's match against Montana State will the team's Senior Day. The Vandals will honor its lone senior
Terra Varney in a post-match ceremony.
QUOTABLE: "I think we have played some of our best volleyball the past couple of weeks. We have tried to put them in some pressure drills. Really we have to control what we can control. We put ourselves in this position. We have to work to win both these matches this weekend." – head coach
Debbie Buchanan.
LAST TIME
• Idaho slipped to ninth in the Big Sky standings
• The Vandals lost to both UNC and UND, 3-1
•
Kaela Straw led Idaho with 3.50 kills/set and a .377 attack percentage.
Terra Varney recorded 35 digs, moving into 2nd all-time in school history
ON TAP
• The Vandals look to move into the Big Sky Tournament standings
• Idaho closes the regular season at home with Montana and Montana State
• Idaho lost to UM in five sets in September
• The Vandals opened conference play with a 3-1 win at MSU
VANDAL FACTS
• Idaho's 74 kills and 71 assists at SUU rank fifth most in the Big Sky this season
• The Vandals have twice totaled 199 total attacks, ranking 14th most in the Big Sky
• The Vandals recorded a season-high 97 digs against NAU
• Idaho ranks eighth in the conference with a .192 hitting percentage
• The Vandals are 10thin the Big Sky with 1.85 blocks/set
• With nine wins this season, Coach Buchanan improves her all-time wins to 253 (77 more than Tom Hilbert)
• Idaho was picked to finish sixth in the conference by the Big Sky coaches
• Head coach
Debbie Buchanan is in her 17th season. She is the longest tenured coach at Idaho, taking over the program in 2000.
• Idaho returns seven letterwinners from the 2015 season, including
Terra Varney the team's lone senior.
• Idaho has finished .500 or better in conference play in 13 consecutive seasons, going a combined 131-81 in WAC/Big West/ Big Sky matches since 2003
• 2015 marked Idaho's 11th consecutive conference postseason tournament. The Vandals won Big Sky championships in their final four seasons in the Big Sky, 1992-95, before returning to the conference in 2014.
• Idaho boasts a young roster in 2016 with 12 underclassmen (seven freshmen, five sophomores)
All Big Sky matches are streamed on WatchBigSky.com
Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Idaho volleyball by following the team on twitter, @IdahoVolleyball.
