CHICAGO—A pair of career-high performances from Kaela Straw and Haylee Mathis propelled Idaho to its first win of the season on Friday. The Vandals put out the Flames of the University of Illinois-Chicago in a marathon of a match, 26-24, 30-32, 25-20, 22-25, 15-13.

"I was proud that the team battle all the way through," head coach Debbie Buchanan commented after the game. "They were a smaller, faster team that had some lefties on the right side that were hard to stop. It was a battle all the way to the end. We hit .400 they hit .409. We really tightened things up at the end of the game and pulled out the win."

Straw, a junior from Spokane, Wash., dominated on offense for the Vandals. She drilled a career-best 25 kills, passing her previous mark of 21 set last season. She took over the match in the latter sets, recording 13 kills in the final three games.

Mathis, playing in her home state of Illinois, hit the 50 assist mark for the first time as a Vandal. She finished with a career-high 56 assists on the night. She was effective on defense as well, adding 13 digs for her 11th career double-double.

"We were just a bigger team," Buchanan added. "We knew that if we stayed in system we would be able to hit above and around them. I think Kaela did that. She was able to get some good shots in.

"It was a great match for Haylee. I think tonight was a breakthrough for her as far as building a trust with her hitters. She put up some great balls there at the end of the match."   

Idaho (1-4) got down early in the first set. UIC opened the match hitting .600 percent on its way to a 10-5 lead. The Vandals played from behind a good portion of the set, fighting out of the early hole. Kaela Straw closed out an Idaho 3-0 run, cutting the UIC lead down to three, 22-18. Idaho put together a commanding 7-1 run, helped out by two Haylee Mathis aces, on its way to gaining its first lead. Reece Carman clinched the set for Idaho, capping off the comeback 26-24.

The second set turned into a test of patience. The Flames again had a solid start to the second set, opening a 9-3 lead. Idaho came back to tie the match at 13. The game featured 11 total ties and four lead changes.  UIC and Idaho each had late chances to close out the set. Both teams continued to extend the set, pushing it to a 30-30 tie. UIC closed with the final two points, outlasting the Vandals to tie the match.

UIC (2-2) got off to another fast start in the third, using a 5-0 run to take a 6-2 lead. The Vandals fought back with a Reece Carman kill to start a short 2-0 run, tying the set at 10. Redshirt freshman Maura Donovan blasted an ace in the midst of a 6-1 run that closed with Idaho up 14-11. Straw's fifth kill in the set gave Idaho the 24-18 lead before closing the set out two points later off a UIC error.   

"It was huge to get the third set," Buchanan continued. "We came back in that first set after being down. We had to work hard and come back in the third set. We knew it was going to be along match. It was not perfect and we still have some things to work on, but we were able to finish strong like we have talked about."

The Flames led for the majority of the fourth set, getting out to two separate six-point leads. The Vandals gained late momentum with an 8-3 run, slimming the Flames' lead down to 23-22. Back-to-back kills from Kyisha Hunt evened the match at two sets apiece.

It was the Silver and Gold that got the strong start in the fifth, scoring four of the first five points. UIC came back in a hurry with a 6-0 run to go up three, 7-4. The set featured seven ties, the last coming at 12 all. Torrin Crawford and Mathis combined to give Idaho match-point at 14-12. UIC regained serve at 14-13 and Crawford slammed things home for Idaho on the next point.

Carman played her best match of the early season, closing the night hitting .531 percent with 17 kills and three total blocks. DeVonne Ryter and Crawford both ended the night with nine kills. Crawford led the team with a .538 attack percentage.

Defensively, the Vandals did a solid job of keeping the ball off the ground. Idaho recorded 67 team digs. Alycia Wodke led the way for Idaho with 19 on the night. Delaney Hopen and Mathis each totaled 13.

"We made some key digs at some key times," Buchanan noted. "They [UIC] had a lot of kills. That is one thing we are trying to understand. It is ok if they get some kills. We just have to keep siding out and we have to push to score points."

Idaho will continue on the road next. The Vandals will travel to Phoenix, Ariz., for three matches hosted at Grand Canyon University. Idaho will open the weekend on Friday, Sept. 8 against Gonzaga.