HONOLULU ? The third time proved to be the charm for the University of Idaho volleyball team as the third-seeded Vandals swept sixth-seeded Nevada Thursday afternoon in the opening round of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament.

Idaho (19-9) used scores of 25-20, 25-21, and 25-18 to defeat Nevada (12-15); a team that had ousted the Vandals from the WAC Tournament twice in three years.

Balance was the key for the Vandals as five players totaled at least six kills and five finished with at least seven digs.

“This was one of our better matches of the season,” Idaho coach Debbie Buchanan said. “We passed great and were able to distribute the offense very well. We hit all of our goals and I can't think of any one area where we struggled.”

Sarah Conwell led the Idaho offense with 12 kills and a .375 hitting percentage while first team all-WAC selection Haley Larsen recovered from a slow start to tally 10 kills and add seven digs. Second team all-WAC honoree Kelsey James totaled 37 assists, eight digs, and four blocks and Sarah Loney added kills and nine digs. Second team all-WAC selection Anna scored six kills and three blocks and Kelsey Taylor added six kills and five blocks. Kelsey Yonker finished with nine digs and Meredith Rice totaled seven digs.

As a team, Idaho hit .250 for the match compared to .164 for Nevada. Idaho held a 9.0-7.5 advantage in blocks and Nevada gained a slight margin in digs at 48-47. The Vandals committed just 14 hitting errors and tallied five service aces.

“We definitely are getting better at the end of the season, which is a goal we had all season. We will need another balanced effort against our next opponent,” Buchanan said.

With the victory, Idaho has tallied its most wins in a season since the 2003 team finished 19-11.

The Vandals now await the outcome of tonight's Hawai`i vs. Boise State match and will play the winner Friday (Nov. 21) at 9:30 p.m. PT.