SEATTLE—The opportunities for an upset were there for the Vandals inside the Alaska Airlines Arena Friday afternoon. Idaho's fast play and staunch defense kept No. 5 Washington within reach for most of the match. In the end the Huskies prevailed with a 25-18, 19-25, 25-21, 25-16 decision.

"Even though we did not win the match I am really proud of this team," head coach Debbie Buchanan stated. "We came out and competed. We got better in games two and three with controlling our errors and made Washington earn its points. Overall, we are competing and we are getting better."

The young Vandals held strong against the defending Pac-12 champions to open the UW/SU Tournament. Washington (4-0) opened fast in the first set and the Vandals countered, taking the second to even the match. The Huskies hit .385 percent in the opener, but stumbled in the second set hitting a -.021.

Idaho (3-1) started shaky in the first, recording a .114 percentage on the attack. The team recovered in the second, using Washington's 13 second-set errors to its advantage. Idaho used a 4-0 run to gain an 11-4 advantage with all four points coming off UW errors. Becca Mau put Idaho up 20-15 and a kill from Kaela Straw gave the Vandals set point, 24-18. UW fought of the first point, but DeVonne Ryter tied the match with her third kill of the day, giving Idaho the 25-19 win.

"We were running our offense pretty fast and making good swings," Buchanan added. "We were trying to get our middles involved a little more. In game two, seven of our 22 attacks came from the middles. We were starting to feed them the ball, which opens up our pins a bit more."

Idaho trailed early in the third, getting down 7-3 at the start. A Sarah Sharp kill, combined with two UW errors, cut the Husky lead to 12-10. Washington maintained a three-point lead up until a 4-1 run by the Vandals tied the match at 17. Straw's 10th kill of the match put the Vandals in front 18-17, following a Washington timeout. The Huskies battled back with a 4-0 push, retaking the lead at 21-18. The Vandals cut it back to a two-point lead at 21-19, but Washington's offense closed on a 4-2 push to take the set, 25-21.

Washington proved why they are the No. 5 team in the country in the final set, hitting a match-high .407 percent with just two errors on 27 total swings. The Silver and Gold stayed close early in the set, getting to within one point at 8-7. A 4-0 run took the wind out of Idaho's sails, expanding to a 12-7 lead. Washington forced Idaho into a timeout at 20-11, finishing a 5-0 run after the stoppage to double up the Vandals at 22-11. Idaho used a late 3-0 run to fend off three UW match points, before a serve into the net closed the set, 25-16.

"We were in the match the entire way and that is the exciting thing," Buchanan noted. "Right now they [Washington] are picked to be a top-5 team in the country. I thought our team competed really well. I think today showed the team we are doing the right things. We just have to keep pushing."

Straw picked up where she left off from last weekend, leading Idaho with 13 kills. Mau had her best match of the season with nine kills. Haylee Mathis finished with Idaho's first double-double of the season, totaling 19 assists and 17 digs. She added seven kills to her line, continuing to flirt with a triple-double.

Idaho's middles combined for 12 kills and a .429 attack percentage. Torrin Crawford led the Vandals with a .462 swing percentage, going errorless on the attack with six kills in 13 swings to go with her five blocks. Ryter ended the match with six kills and a .312 attack percentage.

Washington's Crissy jones led all players with 16 kills, while teammate Kara Bajema recorded a .500 attack percentage.

The Vandals return to the court later tonight at 7 p.m. PT. The team will shift over to the Connelly Center to play Seattle U.

Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Idaho volleyball by following the team on Instagram and Twitter, @IdahoVolleyball.