MOSCOW, Idaho—Career-highs from Becca Mau and Sarah Sharp helped propel Idaho to a 3-2 win over Southern Utah Thursday night inside Memorial Gym. Mau recorded her second consecutive double-double with a career-high 24 kills to go with her 11 digs. Sharp bested her previous high of 20 kills, finishing with 21.

"It was a great win for us tonight," head coach Debbie Buchanan noted. "For our team to battle back at the end and not give up was huge. We made big swings at the end of the game. We are making things a little hard on ourselves right now, but we definitely have it."

Idaho (7-10, 2-3 BSC) looked like it was going to make quick work of Southern Utah, winning the first two sets of the match. Idaho opened the night with a .367 attack percentage on its way to a 25-21 start. Play was tight throughout the second set. Idaho was able to break things open with a 4-0 run to gain a 21-16 advantage. A Southern Utah service error finished off the set for Idaho, 25-20.

Southern Utah (2-15, 0-5 BSC) mounted a comeback out of the break and tied the match at two sets apiece. Idaho's attack errors piled up in the third and fourth set, recording seven and nine, respectively. As the errors piled up, the momentum began to build in favor of the Thunderbirds.

"Every game we come into is a battle," Mau said post-match. "No one in our conference is going to roll over. I was really proud of the girls with how hard we came out at first. We kind of let off a little in those third and fourth sets. Teams are not doing anything to us. It is us on our side of the court."

The Silver and Gold got down early, taking its first timeout down 7-3. Kills by Paige Rupiper and Sarah Sharp chipped away at the lead, helping Idaho climb back to within two. The two teams swapped ends of the court with SUU up 8-5. Sharp helped Idaho cut the Thunderbird lead to 13-11, forcing Southern Utah to take a timeout.

SUU extended its lead to 14-11 out of the timeout, gaining match point. Idaho, with its back against the wall, ran off the next three points. Two kills by Mau and an ace from Terra Varney tied the match at 14. Southern Utah got back on top, 15-14, on the next point, but an error on the serve gave the serve back to the Vandals tied at 15. Mau's fourth kill of the set gave Idaho its first match point, leading 16-15. SUU tied the set and then got back to match point at 17-16.

A kill from DeVonne Ryter tied the set for a fifth time. SUU handed Idaho match point with an error on the next point. Sharp's sixth kill of the set completed a 3-0 run for Idaho, clinching the win with a 19-17 finish.

"In that fifth set I think we just really came out and battled," Mau added. "We wanted it more. The outcome was what we wanted in the end."

The offense ran through Mau and Sharp the entire night. Ryter, Rupiper and Torrin Crawford were the next leading attackers, each totaling seven kills apiece. Freshman Megan Ramseyer recorded her second double-double of the season. She ended the night with 41 assists and 10 digs. Senior Terra Varney recorded a career-high 29 digs.

"I thought they [Mau and Sharp] were big at the end of game four, getting some momentum," Buchanan added. "We just need to get more people hitting and getting the offense to take the pressure off those kids right now. We have to get our middles going to help our pins out. I think that will really open up our game."

The Vandals look to make it two in-a-row on when they return to action on Saturday. Idaho hosts Northern Arizona at 7 p.m. PT. The Lumberjacks suffered their first Big Sky this season, falling to Eastern Washington on Thursday.

The first 200 fans through the doors on Saturday will receive a free Idaho volleyball t-shirt.

Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Idaho women's basketball by following the team on twitter, @IdahoVolleyball.