GREELEY, Colo.—The Idaho Vandals close out the road schedule this week with a pair of matches at Northern Colorado and North Dakota. Idaho, coming off back-to-back wins over ISU and EWU last week will look to continue its upward swing. The Vandals will open at UNC on Thursday (6 p.m. PT) and then head to North Dakota on Saturday (5 p.m. PT).
Quotable: "Both [UNC and UND] are playing consistent. I do not thing we played to our level when we played the first time. They are both going to run something a little different. North Dakota has some big players. Both teams like to run a fast run a fast ball, especially Northern Colorado. We are going to have to get them out of system so they cannot run as fast as they normally do. On the flip side we need to run our offense like we know we can." – head coach
Debbie Buchanan
LAST TIME
• The Vandals broke a five-match skid with back-to-back wins last week
• Idaho defeated Idaho State, 3-1, ending the Bengals seven-match win streak
• UI then traveled to EWU for a 3-1 win
•
Kaela Straw and
Becca Mau both totaled 25 kills.
Haylee Mathis recorded the first triple-double under Coach Buchanan at EWU
ON TAP
• Idaho hits the road for the final time this season at UNC and UND
• The Vandals are currently tied for 8th in the Big Sky with Weber State
• Idaho lost to both the Bears and Fighting Hawks, 3-1, earlier this season
VANDAL FACTS
• Idaho's 74 kills and 71 assists at SUU rank fifth most in the Big Sky this season
• The Vandals have twice totaled 199 total attacks, ranking 13th most in the Big Sky
• The Vandals recorded a season-high 97 digs against NAU
• Idaho ranks eighth in the conference with a .194 hitting percentage
• The Vandals are seventh in the Big Sky with 1.90 blocks/set
• Idaho was picked to finish sixth in the conference by the Big Sky coaches
• Head coach
Debbie Buchanan is in her 17th season. She is the longest tenured coach at Idaho, taking over the program in 2000.
• Idaho returns seven letterwinners from the 2015 season, including
Terra Varney the team's lone senior.
• Idaho has finished .500 or better in conference play in 13 consecutive seasons, going a combined 131-81 in WAC/Big West/ Big Sky matches since 2003
• 2015 marked Idaho's 11th consecutive conference postseason tournament. The Vandals won Big Sky championships in their final four seasons in the Big Sky, 1992-95, before returning to the conference in 2014.
• Idaho boasts a young roster in 2016 with 12 underclassmen (seven freshmen, five sophomores)
About Northern Colorado: UNC secured its spot in the Big Sky Tournament last week, going 2-0 against Montana State and Montana. Sophomore Emily O'Neil ranks sixth in the conference with a .324 hitting percentage. Sophomore Kortney Lockey leads UNC with 3.25 kills per set, seventh in the Big Sky. Setter Ashley Guthrie is second in the conference, averaging 10.81 assists pet set.
All-Time Series: UNC, 2-4; Last Meeting: UNC, W, 3-1
About North Dakota: The Fighting Hawks enter the week leading the Big Sky North and tied with NAU for the No. 1 overall seed at 10-2. North Dakota is fifth in the NCAA with 1,765 total digs. They also rank sixth nationally with 274.0 team blocks. Tamara Merseli has been a force for UND this season, totaling 10 double-doubles. North Dakota has won its last four matches and has yet to lose on its home court in conference play.
All-Time Series: UND, 1-5; Last Meeting: UND, W, 3-1
All Big Sky matches are streamed on WatchBigSky.com
Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Idaho volleyball by following the team on twitter, @IdahoVolleyball.
