MOSCOW, Idaho ? It was home sweet home for the University of Idaho volleyball team as the Vandals swept Washington State in their first match at Memorial Gym this season.
A raucous crowd of 1,001 witnessed a balanced Vandals squad down the Cougars in straight sets with scores of 25-21, 25-16, and 25-22 in the opening round of the Idaho Volleyball Classic.
“This was a good win and we did some great things,” Idaho coach Debbie Buchanan said. “We are starting to click and get better, but we could see tonight there were still areas where we can get better. “
Haley Larsen led the Vandal offense with 13 kills, including eight in the third set, while Sarah Conwell finished with nine and Anna McKinney tallied eight. Kelsey James also served up 31 assists.
“I like how we got our middles involved and that is our goal. We should have done more of that as the match went on, but we need to be in system to be able to do that. Anna, especially, is up and ready to go every time and she is hard to stop when she gets going,” Buchanan said.
On defense, Kelsey Yonker led the way with 17 digs, Sarah Loney added nine, and Larsen and Kelsey James each totaled seven. As a team, the Vandals used 13 blocks to help hold the Cougars to a hitting percentage of just .008.
“Our blocking helped with our ability to hold down their hitting percentage. To be a good defensive team you have to lead in blocks and digs and we were right there. (Washington State) still is adjusting to some changes in their program, but they are going keep getting better.” Buchanan said.
Idaho fell behind 6-1 early to begin the first set, but used an 8-1 rally to take a 9-7 lead and force a WSU timeout. After the break the teams battled to ties at 12-12 and 14-14 before the Vandals moved ahead for good. Idaho earned its largest lead at 20-15 before closing out the set 25-21.
The teams battled to five ties to begin the second set, the final coming at 9-9. Idaho scored the next six points to pull ahead 15-9 and never looked back. The final score of 25-16 was the largest lead of set two.
Idaho jumped to an early 4-0 advantage, but Washington State fought back and the teams later found themselves tied at 10-10. The Vandals scored the next three points and would never relinquish their lead despite the Cougars pulling within one point on six occasions. Idaho eventually claimed the match with a 25-22 victory in set three.
Idaho will play two matches Saturday (Sept. 6) in the second day of the Idaho Classic. The Vandals will face Eastern Washington at 12:30 p.m. and Notre Dame at 7 p.m. at Memorial Gym. Eastern Washington defeated Notre Dame 3-1 in the first game of the tournament Friday.
“Tomorrow morning will be a tough match. Eastern Washington is a good team and we will have to be ready to go,” Buchanan said.
