GAINESVILLE, Florida—The Idaho volleyball team closed out the first day of the Active Ankle Challenge, dropping its match with host Florida, 26-24, 25-17, 25-13. The Vandals started the match with a strong showing in the first set, but No. 10 Gators proved to be strong in front of the home crowd at the O'Connell Center.
The Vandals morning got off to a less than ideal start, getting swept by Oklahoma. Idaho came back in the afternoon ready to show that the morning match was not the team they are.
“We told the team that we had to learn from the morning match,” head coach Debbie Buchanan stated. “We have to come out ready to compete at a high level and not be afraid. Let us learn from it and get better and I thought we did.”
Florida (2-0) scored the opening point of the match, but the Vandals fought right back to get it to even. The Gators jumped ahead, 7-3, early in the first set, when the Vandals forced Florida into back-to-back errors to 8-5. Florida kept pushing the Vandals, trying to unsuccessfully put some distance between them on the scoreboard. An Ali Forde kill tied the match at 18, setting the stage for an exciting finish.
Idaho (0-2) gained its first set lead of the season, 23-22, off an Alyssa Schultz kill. The Gators would tie the score up at 23 and again at 24, but that would be as close as Idaho would get.
“Offensively, we are doing some things at a really high level,” Buchanan added. “We passed much better. The difference [from the morning] was just some little secondary plays. I was pretty proud of the team. We did a much better job. Even though the numbers do not really show it, we are doing the right things on the offense.”
The Vandals played the second and third set minus libero Jenna Ellis, who left the match due to an injury. Sophomore Terra Varney shifted over to libero and recorded 12 digs in the remainder of the match. Junior Katelyn Peterson led the team with 10 kills in 28 swings. Forde finished the match with 21 attacks, seven kills and two errors. Meredith Coba led Idaho with 19 assists, after recording 25 against Oklahoma.
“We were passing at a much higher level,” Buchanan said. “When you do that you can run the middle and hold the pins and make sure things happen. If you do that, it can make a big difference.”
The Silver and Gold have one remaining match left in Gainesville. They will take on the Eagles of Georgia Southern Saturday at 9 a.m. PT.
