MOSCOW, Idaho - The University of Idaho volleyball team suffered its first defeat of the season at home as a late rally fell short and Gonzaga won a five-set match at Memorial Gym Tuesday.
The Vandals (11-12) used a late rally to force a fifth set, but the Bulldogs (8-13) quickly sapped Idaho's momentum and built a 6-0 lead to start the final set. Gonzaga used set scores of 25-22, 19-25, 26-24, 24-26 and 15-6 to win its fourth-consecutive match over Idaho in the non-conference series.
"We were off from the very beginning," Idaho coach Debbie Buchanan said. "They were better than us defensively and we struggled as the match went on. Usually we get better and we learn through each set, but it wasn't there tonight. Gonzaga is a good passing team and they out-executed us. Our blocking wasn't there and we could never get in a rhythm because our passing also struggled."
Alicia Milo led the Vandals with 20 kills, Sarah Conwell was close behind with 19 and Kelsey Taylor added 10 kills. Conwell notched her 11th double-double as she also added 15 digs and Katie Tribley also earned a double-double with 49 assists and 10 digs. Meredith Rice led Idaho with 22 digs and Cassie Hamilton added 10.
As a team, the Vandals struggled defensively as Gonzaga held the advantage in digs (86-76) and blocks (12.5-9). The Bulldogs also hit .220 compared to Idaho's .151, although the Vandals did manage 11 service aces.
Idaho opened the match with a service ace and held a slight advantage at 6-5 before Gonzaga scored the next seven points to move ahead 12-6. The Vandals recovered to bring the score to 19-18, but were never able to tie or take the lead as Gonzaga held on for the 25-22 victory.
Idaho took a 3-2 lead to open the second set and never looked back en route to a 25-19 victory in set two. The Vandals moved ahead by eight points on two occasions for its largest lead of the set.
The Vandals never led in set three although the score was tied on six occasions. Gonzaga held a 19-15 margin before Idaho fought back to tie the score at 21-21. The score was then tied at 22, 23, and 24 before the Bulldogs pulled away for the win with a kill and an Idaho error.
Set four was the most hotly-contested of the match as it saw 11 ties and six lead changes. Gonzaga held match point at 24-22, but Idaho was able to rally for the victory with four-consecutive points to force a fifth set.
Gonzaga immediately stole Idaho's momentum by scoring the first six points on the final set and eventually moved ahead 10-2. Idaho never threatened and the Bulldogs took the match with a 15-6 victory.
Idaho returns to Western Athletic Conference action Thursday (Oct. 29) as the Vandals host New Mexico State at Memorial Gym at 7 p.m.
