MOSCOW, Idaho—A slow first set plagued the Vandals on Saturday night as they began the final home-stretch of the season. Idaho overcame its eight errors in the opener to defeat Eastern Washington in four sets, 24-26, 25-13, 25-19, 25-18.
Idaho moves to 15-11 on the season and 11-3 in the Big Sky. Eastern Washington drops to 9-18 overall and 5-9 in the conference.
“I thought Eastern came out and played well,” head coach Debbie Buchanan noted following the match. “I think we started a little slow as far as sticking to our responsibilities. As the match went on I thought we got a lot better. We definitely started controlling the tempo of the match, really pushing to get some runs which was great.”
Junior Katelyn Peterson shined on both sides of the net of Saturday. She recorded her second double-double of the weekend with 13 kills and a career-high 21 digs. Ali Forde and Jessica Hastriter both slammed 12 kills on the night, while Alyssa Schultz added 10 of her own. Stephanie Hagins led the team with a .429 attack percentage (7-1-14).
Idaho dropped the first set of the match on Saturday, for the first time since Oct. 25 against Idaho State. The Vandals hit just .109 in the set, totaling 13 kills. Forde was the lone bright spot for the Vandals, totaling five kills of her own. EWU on the finished the set slightly edging out Idaho, hitting .140.
The Silver and Gold countered in the second set, fueled by Peterson's six kills. Idaho hit .324 as a team, committing just three errors in 34 total swings. Meredith Coba recorded 14 of her 48 assists in the set, directing the offense to five different Vandals. Peterson ignited a 9-1 run for the Vandals midway through the set to shift the moment of the match. Already leading 10-8, the Vandals forced two EWU timeouts on its way to the 19-9 set-lead. Peterson totaled four kills over the run, Schultz and Forde also chipped in with kills of their own. Up 21-13, Idaho used a run of four consecutive points to even the match before the break.
“Our team is not going to give up,” Buchanan added. “They are going to stay in and fight [in these matches]. Now it is just a matter of can we start out strong? We are playing real steady right now.”
The Eagles started the third set much like the first. Idaho took an early timeout, trailing 10-6. The Vandals scored seven of the next 10 points after the timeout to tie the set at 13. The third set saw its share of back and forth play, with some extended rallies as each team fought for points. The scoreboard saw five lead changes and eight ties in the set. The Vandals broke the 17-17 tie, going on 9-2 run to close the set. Idaho totaled a .281 attack percentage with just two errors. EWU was forced into six attack errors and five errors from the service line.
Idaho outblocked EWU, 11-5, on Saturday. The Vandals enjoyed four team blocks in the fourth set, getting three form Schultz (1 BS, 2 BS). Schultz finished the night with a team-high six blocks. Tied at 10 midway through the final set, the Vandals used a convincing 5-1 run, to regain the lead at 15-11. Idaho would not let the set slip away. Forde ended the night on Idaho's second match-point.
“It is nice to have these long rallies and battles,” Peterson said. “These battles are getting us ready for the conference tournament. Undoubtedly we are going to be in four and five setters. So [these last two matches] really are preparing us for those close games.”
The Vandals outdug EWU, 77-68. Jenna Ellis and Terra Varney trailed Peterson with 19 and 15 digs, respectively.
Idaho, already guaranteed a spot in the Big Sky Tournament, closes the regular season at home next week with matches against North Dakota (Nov. 13) and Northern Colorado (Nov. 15). Both matches are set for 7 p.m. PT starts. Saturday's regular-season finale is also Idaho's Senior Night.
