CEDAR CITY, Utah—The Idaho Vandals used 22 kills from junior Kaela Straw to overcome its shaky start on Thursday. Idaho came out slow and dropped the opening set to Southern Utah. Idaho bounced back to take the next three games, leaving the America First Event Center with the 21-25, 25-22, 25-13, 25-22 win.

Idaho (9-7, 4-1 BSC) stumbled out of the gate against the Thunderbirds. The team hit .154 percent in the set to SUU's .324 percent. Southern Utah, looking for its first Big Sky win, ran off a 6-0 run to close out Idaho in the first set, 25-21.

"Obviously, it was not our best night," head coach Debbie Buchanan said about the victory. "I do not think we came out with the intensity of playing our game. We were really up and down. I thought at least offensively from the service line we were able to do some things – and blocking wise. It is a win. Sometimes it is hard to get those wins on the road."

The Vandals evened things up in the second set with a 25-22 win. A 5-0 Idaho run put some separation between the two teams, giving Idaho a 16-9 advantage. Moments later Idaho used kills from Reece Carman and Sarah Sharp to put together a 4-0 push to claim a 21-13 lead. SUU climbed back to within three late in the match, 23-20, before Idaho closed out the set.

The Silver and Gold generated a huge momentum push in the third set, setting the tone for the remainder of the night. Idaho trailed 7-6 early on in the set when a kill from DeVonne Ryter tied the frame at seven. Idaho used three blocks and kills from Carman and Sharp in the following points to go on an 11-0 run, gaining at 17-7 lead. The advantage proved to be all Idaho needed to claim the 2-1 lead.

"That [run] was huge," Buchanan explained. "We came out and I felt like that was the one game we took complete control of. We were aggressive. We played our game. We made an adjustment in our back row which I think helped us. We just have to make those adjustments throughout the match."

Straw took control of the match in the fourth set for Idaho. She totaled nine of her 22 kills in the closing set with a .429 attack percentage. Idaho, as a team hit a match-best .441 percent in the stanza. The team carried its momentum into the final set, opening up an early 10-3 advantage. Southern Utah battled back to tie the set at 17. An ace from Delaney Hopen capped a 3-0 run that put Idaho up 24-21. A bad set by SUU decided the match for Idaho, giving the team the 25-22 win.

Straw finished the match with a .312 attack percentage, falling three kills shy of matching her career best. Ryter matched her career-high with 11 kills, pushing her over 300 for her career. She led the team with a .562 hitting percentage and six total blocks. Junior Haylee Mathis finished one assist shy of her career-high 56.

The Vandals continued to have a huge presence at the net. The team totaled 12 total blocks, forcing Southern Utah into 18 attack errors. Torrin Crawford provided five total blocks to go with her eight kills. Carman was right there with her with four blocks and nine kills.

MaCail Evans led the Thunderbirds with 13 kills. Macky Fifita also finished in double figures with 10 kills.

The Vandals close out their four-game road trip on Saturday. The team will take on Northern Arizona. The Lumberjacks got swept by Eastern Washington on Thursday.

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

For more information on Idaho Athletics, visit GoVandals.com. Fans can also find Idaho on Twitter and Instagram, @Idaho_Vandals, or on Facebook by searching Idaho Vandals.