MOSCOW - After playing the first six matches of 2010 on the road, the Idaho volleyball team was in Memorial Gym for the first time, facing Cal Poly Thursday night. But the Mustangs spoiled Idaho's home opener, sweeping the Vandals 3-0 with 25-23, 25-15 and 25-21 set victories.
The loss drops Idaho to 2-4 overall while Cal Poly improves to 4-3 on the season.
Cal Poly out-hit Idaho .293 to .116 in the match and had a 38-28 advantage in assists and a 43-30 advantage in digs.
"I thought our passing was better, and I thought our serving was tougher," Idaho coach Debbie Buchanan said. "But then it comes down to offense, being able to hit the ball high and hard with composure."
The Vandals were led by Alicia Milo's 13 kills while Allison Walker added seven. Jenny Feicht had 16 assists for Idaho, and Ryann Carter came in to set for the first time this season, and recorded eight assists in the third set. Cassie Hamilton had 10 digs for the Vandals, and Julia Church added nine to go along with three kills and three blocks. Kelsey Taylor led the Vandals in blocks with four, and Idaho out-blocked Cal Poly eight to three.
"We made a setter change to see if that would make a difference," Buchanan said. "Those kids are neck and neck in practice. We're getting the ball up there and it's in a good spot, right now we're just making too many errors. We've got to be better."
Kristina Graven led Cal Poly with 12 kills, and Jennifer Keddy had 10 for the Mustangs, while setter Sarah Cawrse finished with 27 assists.
"Cal Poly is a good team," Buchanan said. "They're a defensive team, they dig a lot of balls, their outsides hit some high balls."
The Vandals will be back in action Friday night as Eastern Washington visits Memorial Gym at 7 p.m. Idaho wraps up its three-game home-stand on Sept. 12 when Montana State comes for an 11 a.m. match.
