CORVALLIS, Ore.—Junior
Sarah Sharp highlighted the action Saturday morning for the Vandals at the Beaver State Classic. She led all players with 14 kills, but it was not enough to help Idaho against Kansas State.
KSU (2-0) took charge of the match late in the first set and continued to keep Idaho at a distance, taking the match in three sets, 25-23, 25-18, 25-15.
"Overall, I thought we played better than we did yesterday," head coach
Debbie Buchanan explained after the match. "We were right there with them. That is a Big 12 team. We out-blocked them which was huge. The difference right now is we need to get more kills and more digs."
Saturday's opening frame was closely contested from start to finish. The first set featured 10 ties and eight lead changes. A 3-0 push from the Vandals, capped off by consecutive aces from Sharp, put Idaho up 7-5. Each team put together short runs, swapping leads. The Vandals got up 21-17 late in the set, but KSU answered back, tying the set at 21. The Wildcats closed the set on an 8-2 run to take the 25-23 win.
Kansas State (2-0) carried the momentum into the second frame. The Cats posted the first eight points, hitting .625 percent in the opening run. Idaho got on the board thanks to a KSU error, followed by a block by
Reece Carman and
Torrin Crawford. K-State's advantage grew to 13-3 at the midway mark, proving to be too much to overcome. Idaho continued to battle, scoring a 6-2 run to cut the KSU lead to 15-9.
Idaho saw early success in the third. Sharp and Carman helped ignite a 6-1 run for the Vandals, giving them a 12-11 lead. K-State answered back with a 6-1 run of its own to go back up on top, 17-13. The Wildcat run did not end there. KSU closed the final set with a 14-3 run, squandering Idaho's chances of extending the match.
"We have to compete all the way through," Buchanan added. "We are going to play tough teams. We battled and we went neck and neck all the way in the first. We have to take that into game two, instead of worrying so much about not winning the first. We have to execute what we are doing every single play. If you think too much about winning and forget about the execution you are going to get yourself in trouble, especially in volleyball."
Sharp added a career-high three aces, all in the first set, four digs and a block to her final line. The offense struggle outside of Sharp. Carman was the second top producer for Idaho, tallying three kills. The Vandals proved large on the defensive side of the net. Idaho recorded eight team blocks. Carman helped up front having a hand in five blocks. Crawford and
DeVonne Ryter both had four block assists.
"Every team that we play is going to be little different as far as what we do execution wise," Buchanan noted. "With these guys and how big they are we had to change our blocking to put us in a better position. I think we did that."
Kylee Zumach led Kansas State with 13 kills to go with her 11 digs. Bryna Vogel totaled nine kills, while Peyton Williams posted seven.
Idaho closes the tournament later today against Pacific. First serve is set for 4 p.m. PT.
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.