MOSCOW, IDAHO—The Vandal volleyball team returned to Memorial Gym on Friday night and picked up its first win of the young season. Idaho swept former Western Athletic Conference rival Seattle U, 25-23, 25-23, 25-22 to open the Idaho Volleyball Classic.
It was not the prettiest of offensive nights on either side of the net, with both team finishing with over 20 attack errors. Idaho finished the match hitting only .088 while Seattle U only slightly edged the home team with a .153 attacking average. Katelyn Peterson carried a bulk of the night's offense for Idaho leading the team with 12 kills. Martina Samadan bested her by one to finish the match with a game-high 13.
“I thought we were really steady tonight,” Peterson said following the match. “Even when things were not going well we were still really strong and came together. I thought we really stuck together as a team and fought to the end.”
With the Idaho offense having a down night, the defense was forced into the spotlight. The Vandals finished with season highs in team blocks with 10 and digs with 49. Torrin Crawford and Kaela Straw each had a part in four blocks on the night, none bigger than Straw's three block assists in the third set that set the tone early for the remainder of the set.
“I really thought our girls battled [tonight],” head coach Debbie Buchanan explained. “Seattle U is a very big team. We knew they were going to block a lot of balls. We knew we were going to have to move some things around. Luckily they gave us some errors in some different areas that allowed us to stay in some things. From a defensive and passing standing point I thought our team did a great job of staying in system, especially being able to go back in transition and make some things happen."
Idaho picked up its first set win of the season with a 25-23 decision in the first. Seattle U opened up a 9-5 lead from the start. Crawford cut the SU lead to 11-8, before the Redhawks got back up 13-9. Idaho fought back with an ace from Peterson and a kill from Becca Mau as part of a 5-0 run to gain its first lead of the night at 14-13. Seattle U regained the lead, extending it to 20-17, before Peterson and Mau capped off another Idaho run to give the Vandals the 21-20 advantage. Sarah Sharp pushed Idaho to set point at 24-21 and the Vandals closed it out off a Seattle U attack error.
Idaho once again got down early in the second set. A 4-0 Seattle U run put the deficit at 10-6. Idaho slowly chipped away with a kill from Peterson and Seattle U errors. With the Redhawks up 14-8 the Silver and Gold went on a 5-1 run with kills from Sharp, Peterson and DeVonne Ryter to get to within two at 15-13. Seattle U began to make costly error and the Vandals took advantage with a 6-0 run to take a 23-19 lead and Seattle U setting error closed the set for the Vandals.
Crawford, Straw and Laine Waters opened the third set with a block party. The three Vandals had a hand in three devastating to get up 8-5 in the set. SU tied the match at nine, using a quick 3-0 run. Tied at 17, Idaho used a string of Redhawk errors gain a three point cushion. An ace from Terra Varney forced a SU timeout at 22-18 and a Sami Parris ace completed the win for Idaho.
Jenna Ellis recorded a team-high 14 digs and Meredith Coba led the Vandals with 19 assists.
“This team has been working hard,” Buchanan added. “To finally see things paying off—it is only going to get better. That is the exciting thing to see.”
Idaho takes on UC Irvine at 12:30 p.m. PT on Saturday. The Anteaters were swept by Washington State in Friday's first match. The Vandals will face Palouse rival WSU to close the Idaho Volleyball Classic at 7 p.m.
For more information on Idaho Athletics, visit GoVandals.com. Fans can also find Idaho on Twitter and Instagram, @Idaho_Vandals, or on Facebook by searching Idaho Vandals.
