Volleyball | 09/08/2016

PULLMAN, Wash.—Call it a "staycation" of sorts if you will. The Idaho Volleyball team will make the short trip across the state-line for this weekend's WSU Cougar Challenge. Idaho will play three matches, starting Friday morning at neighboring Bohler Gym.

Idaho (3-3) plays the first match of the tournament against George Washington at 9:30 a.m. PT on Friday. They will close Friday with a 5 p.m. meeting with Maryland Eastern Shore. The Vandals will play host Washington State on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Quotable: "This week we have been focusing a lot on our errors and controlling our side of the ball. We did not really control the tempo last weekend in Seattle. We want to go into this tournament focusing on that and really controlling our errors and our side." – Sophomore Sarah Sharp

Milestone Watch: Terra Varney needs 12 digs to tie Janelle Chow (2009-12) for 7th in school history with 1,089 career digs. Head coach Debbie Buchanan is 3 wins shy of 250 for her career.

Early Start: Idaho's 3-3 record matches its best start since the 2013 season.

Closing Out: Idaho holds a 3-0 record when leading 2-1 after three sets this season.

Youth Movement: Idaho boasts a young roster in 2016 with 12 underclassmen (seven freshmen, five sophomores).

Preseason Poll: Idaho was picked to finish sixth in the conference by the Big Sky coaches.

Postseason Streak: 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.

About George Washington: The Colonials enter the tournament at 4-3. GW defeated Loyola (Md.), 3-1, in its last match on Tuesday. Freshman Skylar Lott was named the Atlantic 10 Co-Rookie of the Week. She has had double-digit kills in all seven matches and ranks third in the conference with 3.88 kills per set. ALL-TIME SERIES: 0-0

About Maryland Eastern Shore: The Hawks have played a busy schedule, entering the weekend with a 7-2 record. They went 3-0 last week with a trio of sweeps against South Carolina State, Rider and Norfolk State. Lucia Babic leads UMES with 2.56 kills per set and a .314 hitting percentage. ALL-TIME SERIES: 0-0

About Washington State: The Cougars hold a 5-1 record this season, receiving votes in the Sept. 5 AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll. WSU went 3-0 last week in Long Beach, Calif., scoring wins over Northeaster, UC Irvine and Long Beach State. The Cougars are second in the Pac-12 with 3.33 blocks per set. Idaho and WSU have played every year since 1976, outside of 1980 and 2011. ALL-TIME SERIES: 21-42, Last meeting, 2015.

FOLLOW: Links to the live stats and online streams are available through GoVandals.com. Fans can also follow along live on Twitter, @IdahoVolleyball.