STOCKTON, Calif. - The Idaho volleyball team fought hard against Santa Clara to open the Community Bankers Classic Thursday night, but fell in four sets to the Broncos, 23-25, 25-23, 21-25 and 23-25. The loss drops Idaho to 2-2 on the season while Santa Clara improves to 4-1.
The Vandals pushed Santa Clara to the limit in two of their three set losses, but couldn't quite get over the hump.
"I feel like the match could have gone either way," Idaho coach Debbie Buchanan said. "We were right there with them. Offensively I don't think we got the numbers that we needed tonight."
Idaho hit .120 on offense while SCU hit .192. The Vandals were led by Allison Walker's 17 kills and .196 hitting percentage, while Alicia Milo racked up 14 kills and seven digs, Kelsey Taylor finished with nine kills and five blocks and Jenny Feicht tallied 43 assists and 10 digs.
Julie Church finished the match with six kills, 13 digs and three blocks for the Vandals, while Cassie Hamilton led the way for Idaho with 16 digs.
Down 24-19 in the first set, the Vandals rallied to pull within one at 24-23 led by two kills and a block assist by Milo. But Idaho fell short of completing the comeback when Milo's attempt to tie was blocked by SCU's Dana Knudsen and Emily Burke.
The Vandals came back from down 17-16 to win the second set 25-23 and tie the match at 1-1. In the third set Idaho found itself down just 22-21, but SCU won the final three points to claim a 25-21 victory and take a 2-1 lead.
The Vandals built a 23-22 lead in the back-and-forth fourth set, but after a Santa Clara timeout, the Broncos rallied to win the last three points and claim the 3-1 match victory.
The Vandals wrap up the event Friday night at 7 p.m. against host Pacific. The Tigers enter the match at 2-1 overall.
"If we can pass a little bit better and get our offense going were going to be fine," Buchanan said.
Fans can follow all the action live online via GameTracker at www.pacifictigers.com.
Idaho will be in Memorial Gym for three home games next week. The Vandals host Cal Poly on Sept. 9, Eastern Washington on Sept. 10 and Montana State on Sept. 12.
