FULLERTON, Calif. - The University of Idaho volleyball team opened the 2009 season with a 3-0 sweep of Appalachian State at the Crowne Plaza Titan Classic Friday.
Idaho used set scores of 25-20, 25-19 and 25-16 to earn its first season-opening victory since the 2005 season.
"This was a really great start for our team and I am very pleased with the effort tonight," Idaho coach Debbie Buchanan said. "It was nice to come out and be focused and strong in our first match. The players kept their composure throughout the entire match and I saw some really promising things."
Sarah Conwell opened the season with the 20th double-figure kills match of her career as she tallied 12 kills and a .360 hitting percentage. She also added six digs and two blocks. Meredith Rice totaled 15 digs and a service ace, Cassie Hamilton notched seven kills and two aces and Anna McKinney finished with a match-high five blocks. Freshman Janelle Chow served up three aces and added seven digs in her collegiate debut.
As a team, Idaho hit .216 compared to .116 for Appalachian State. The Vandals totaled six service aces to just one service error and held the advantage in digs (52-49) and blocks (8-5).
"We saw some things we need to work on, but this was a good match for us right out of the gate. We want to side out with a percentage higher than 60 and we finished at 76-percent in the first set, 68-percent in the second set and 70-percent in the third set. That was exciting to see."
The Vandals play twice Saturday with matches vs. Lamar at 11 a.m., and vs. host-team Cal State Fullerton at 7:30 p.m.
