BOZEMAN, Mont.—Idaho made short work of Montana State on Saturday night. The Vandals extended their current winning streak to four matches with a 25-21, 26-24, 25-22 sweep of the Bobcats. The win marked Idaho's 16th consecutive over MSU, dating back to 1990.
Idaho (8-12, 5-3) hit .307 on the attack over the first two sets of play, totaling 32 kills to jump out the 2-0 lead. The Silver and Gold totaled 17 kills in the final frame to close out the Bobcats. Idaho outhit Montana State .275 to .243 on the night. The Vandals only finished with three more kills than the home team, but dominated from the service line with six aces.
“I thought we did a great job of serving,” head coach Debbie Buchanan said post-match. “That was one of our focuses before the match. Montana State runs a fast middle and we really wanted to get after it.”
Freshman DeVonne Ryter carried a bulk of the Idaho offense. She recorded as season-high 10 kills and a team-leading .692 hitting percentage, the best mark by a Vandal this season (10 kill min). Senior Katelyn Peterson came on strong late in the match with six third-set kills. She closed the night with 10 kills and a team-high eight digs. Sarah Sharp added eight kills on the night, while Becca Mau and Tineke Bierma each recorded seven.
“DeVonne did a great job of being up and ready,” Buchanan added. “It was big for her to get 10 kills. That kind of balanced things out a little. It took everybody tonight. We really needed multiple kids tonight which was great.”
Montana State (3-13, 1-7) opened the match as the aggressors, jumping out to a quick 7-3 lead. Idaho chipped away and with the help of a 3-0 run tied the set at 13. A second 3-0 stretch gave Idaho its first lead of the set at 16-15. A kill from Sharp closed a 4-0 run to give Idaho a late 20-16 lead. A MSU attack error gave the Vandals set-point. The Bobcats fought off two closing points, before a swing from Mau found the floor for the 25-21 win.
The second set started with a 6-1 Idaho swing. Montana State slowly pushed back, getting to within one at 14-13. The Bobcats tied the match at 14 following an Idaho timeout. Two quick points off MSU errors gave Idaho back a two-point advantage. A 5-1 run put a four-point gap between the two schools at 22-18. Idaho was first to set-point at 24-21. Montana State fought off three set-points to tie the set at 24. A Kaela Straw kill combined with a Bobcat ball handling error wrapped up the set for Idaho at 26-24.
The Vandals quickly got up 11-4 in the final set, looking to close things out with ease. Montana State put together a 3-0 run, all off Idaho errors, to get back to within four at 14-10. Consecutive kills from Straw and Mau put the Vandals up by seven at 19-12. Three mini 2-0 runs from the Bobcats cut the Idaho lead to 22-19. A Sharp kill matched with an MSU attacking error gave the Vandals match-point, 24-19. Natalee Godfrey recorded two kills, helping MSU fend off three match-points. Sharp recorded the winner out of an Idaho timeout the take the set, 25-22.
Meredith Coba and Natalie Jensen combined for 41 of Idaho's 42 assists, helping eight different Vandals record kills on the night.
Montana State totaled 44 assists, a majority coming from setter Katie Harrington. Godfrey led the match with 14 kills.
Idaho is back on the road next week with matches at Weber State and Idaho State.
For more information on Idaho Athletics, visit GoVandals.com. Fans can also follow Idaho volleyball on Twitter, @IdahoVolleyball.
