FLAGSTAFF, Ariz.—The Idaho State Bengals put an end to the Vandals NCAA Volleyball Tournament aspirations on Friday. The No. 3 Bengals defeated Idaho, the tournament's second seed, 25-23, 25-16, 24-26, 25-19 in Rolle Activity Center.

Idaho State (23-9) put the Vandals in an early 2-0 hole, using a .405 hitting percentage in the second set to claim the advantage. The Vandals totaled 16 errors in the opening two sets, getting out killed 30-25.

“Our biggest thing tonight was we were just making too many errors,” head coach Debbie Buchanan said. In game three we only had four errors and that is why we won it. Our serve-receive at time broke down. We knew it was going to be a side out battle. I was proud of everything we did this year. Idaho State just played a cleaner game tonight.”

Idaho (14-16) came out in the third set and outhit the Bengals .306 to .178 percent. Katelyn Peterson gave the Vandals a 6-4 lead early into the set. Idaho State charged back with three consecutive aces to tie the match at 13. Sara Sharp broke the tie to put Idaho back up 14-13. ISU tied the set at 15, 18 and 21 down the stretch. A quick 2-0 spurt from the Vandals forced ISU into a timeout down 23-21. A 3-0 run from the Bengals gave ISU the late 24-23 lead. Idaho closed the set on a 3-0 run with Sharp getting the final kill of the set, 26-24.

The Silver and Gold fought hard in the fourth. A 3-0 run midway through the set got Idaho within three points at 15-12. A Torrin Crawford kill followed by an ISU mishit cut the Bengal lead to 21-17. Idaho State scored four of the final five points, finishing off the match with a Sommer Seeder kill.

Kaela Straw led the Vandals for the second match in a row. She turned in 14 kills and a .478 hitting percentage. Peterson closed her Vandal career with her 21st career double-double. She passed 1,000 career kills on the night, finishing with 13 kills and 12 digs. Senior Meredith Coba added led the team with 27 assists. Sharp finished with nine kills, while Crawford added five.

“We made a ton of progress from the start of the season,” Buchanan added. “This conference is more of a defensive conference. As we keep working and become more of a physical team we will catch up.”

For more information on Idaho Athletics, visit GoVandals.com.  Fans can also follow Idaho volleyball on Twitter, @IdahoVolleyball.