PORTLAND— Idaho started shaky from the beginning Friday night at the North Harbour Marriott Invitational. Idaho recorded 13 errors in the opening set and never recovered, falling to Cal Poly in four (25-14, 24-26, 25-19, 25-20).
The Vandals recorded just 14 points in the opening set. Idaho never got a shot to control the set's tempo due to its six service errors—a mark also hit in the second set at Hawaii. Idaho closed the match with a season-high 17 service errors.
“We unable to gain any momentum tonight,” head coach Debbie Buchanan explained. “We handed them 17 points. That is almost a whole game. When you are not challenging a team and just handing over those points it is hard to get into any kind of rhythm.”
Cal Poly (6-1) got on the board first on the night with two Idaho errors to open play. The Mustangs got out to a 17-10 lead, forcing an Idaho timeout. Out of the timeout Tineke Bierma netted her fourth kill of the set. Cal Poly closed the game on an 8-3 run, finishing off the Vandals.
Idaho (1-6) started hot in the second set, getting a quick three points. Cal Poly tied the match at five, in what was the first of 16 total ties in the set. Bierma added four more kills in the set, while Katelyn Peterson and Sarah Sharp added three each. A Bierma kill tied the match at 23 and she followed up with an ace to give the Vandals set point. The Mustangs took a timeout and Raeann Greisen tied the match at 24. Two consecutive Cal Poly attack errors gave Idaho the set, 26-24.
The Silver and Gold played catch up for most of the third set. An early 5-1 run by the Mustangs broke a tie at two. Idaho would get back to within two, 8-6, off a Torrin Crawford ace. Two consecutive errors boosted Cal Poly to a 13-8 lead midway through the set. A Becca Mau kill slimmed Cal Poly's lead again to two at 16-14. The Mustangs closed the set on a 6-3 run, capped by Idaho's eighth attack error of the set.
Idaho stringed together a 7-0 run in the final set to cut Cal Poly's advantage to 15-14. The Mustangs came right back with a 7-2 run of their own, dimming Idaho's hopes of forcing a fifth set. An Adlee Van Winden kill finished off the match, 25-20.
Bierma finished the night with a career-high 12 kills, matching a personal-best with a .333 attack average. Peterson matched Bierma in kills with 12 and added 13 digs and three blocks. Senior Meredith Coba led the team in assists with 19. Freshman Natalie Jensen, playing in her second match, totaled 16 assists and four digs.
“Offensively we had some good things happen tonight,” Buchanan added. “Natalie came off the bench and did some great things. Tineke played great. It was not that we were not doing things offensively. We just gave away too many points and it was hard to catch back up.”
The Vandals finish off the tournament with two matches tomorrow. The team opens with Portland at 10 a.m. PT and will turn around and face St. Francis later in the afternoon at 4 p.m.
For more information on Idaho Athletics, visit GoVandals.com. Fans can also follow Idaho volleyball on Twitter, @IdahoVolleyball.
