RENO, Nev. - The University of Idaho volleyball ended a four-game road losing streak with a 3-0 sweep of Nevada in Western Athletic Conference action Saturday.
The Vandals (8-11, 4-3) used scores of 25-23, 25-22, and 25-22 to earn the program's 650th victory. Nevada fell to 7-13 overall and 3-4 in the WAC with the loss.
"We talked with the players about not forgetting who we are and that is a team who serves and blocks tough," Idaho coach Debbie Buchanan. "Tonight we were in a good frame of mind and did those things. Our blocking and serving were huge parts of the match tonight and our offense followed with a good hitting night. I'm proud of the players for getting it done in three because that is huge to do on the road."
The Vandals found themselves behind 16-11 to start the first set before charging back to take an 18-17 lead. From that point the score was tied six times before Idaho pulled away from a 23-23 tie with the help of two Nevada errors.
Set two saw six ties and four lead changes in the early going, but the Vandals pulled ahead 8-7 and never looked back. Idaho's largest lead came at 22-18 before an ace and two Sarah Conwell kills gave Idaho the 25-23 victory.
The Vandals opened a 7-2 lead to start the third set, but the Wolf Pack charged back to tie the score at 9-9. From that point there were seven ties and four lead changes as Nevada was able to pull ahead 22-17. The Vandals then scored the next six points to move ahead 23-20 and the teams traded points as Idaho held on to take set three 25-22.
Conwell rebounded for 17 kills to only four errors for a .371 hitting percentage. Alicia Milo added seven kills and Kelsey Taylor finished with six kills. Meredith Rice tallied eight digs while Conwell and Cassie Hamilton each totaled seven digs. Hamilton also added three service aces and Anna McKinney finished with seven blocks.
As a team, the Vandals finished with season-highs for hitting percentage (.263) and kills per set (14.00). Idaho held Wolf Park to a .143 hitting percentage while earning the advantage in digs (32-31) and blocks (11.5-2.0).
Idaho remains on the road for a match Monday (Oct. 19) at Utah State. The match will be aired live by ESPNU and will begin at 8 p.m. PT at Logan, Utah.
