BOZEMAN, Mont.—The start to the Big Sky season was a positive one for Idaho on Thursday. The Vandals opened conference play with a 25-23, 25-21, 23-25, 25-19 win at Montana State. The victory marked career win No. 250 for head coach Debbie Buchanan.

"It has been a team effort for us" Buchanan said about reaching 250 wins. "It is a reflection on all the players and staff that have helped build this program. It is a great accomplishment and hopefully we will keep that number growing. It is an overall program achievement more than anything."

Sophomore Sarah Sharp had her best night as a Vandal. She finished with a career-high 20 kills. Her 20 kills marked the most by a Vandal since Tineke Bierma totaled 20 against North Dakota back on Sept. 26, 2015. Junior Becca Mau also had success on the night, totaling 13 kills for Idaho. Sophomore DeVonne Ryter led Idaho with a .471 attack percentage, finishing errorless on the attack with eight kills.

"I think we opened some things up tonight," Buchanan added. "It was a great night for Sarah. She is a big part of scoring a lot of points for us. Becca played really consistent for us tonight. I thought our middles did a good job.

Idaho (6-7, 1-0 Big Sky) got behind early in the first set. A 3-0 run for Idaho tied things up at 16. MSU got back up 17-16 out of the timeout, but kills from Sharp and Torrin Crawford helped Idaho to a 5-0 run and a 21-17 advantage. Montana State would cut the lead down to one, 23-22, but a Bobcat error gave the set to Idaho. Sharp totaled nine kills in the set, setting the tone offensively for the rest of the night.

The Silver and Gold made quick work of Montana State in the second set. Idaho started with a 4-0 run fueled senior Terra Varney at the service line. Two 3-0 runs forced Montana State to use both of its timeouts, the last following a Crawford kill that gave Idaho a 13-8 lead. Idaho built itself a comfortable 21-13 lead, seemingly coasting to a 2-0 advantage. The Bobcats thought otherwise. Montana State ripped off a 7-1 run, cutting the Idaho lead to 24-21. Mau ended the MSU run with her fifth kill of the set, give Idaho its fourth 2-0 lead of the season.

Montana State (2-8, 0-1 Big Sky) avoided a 15th consecutive sweep to Idaho, taking the third set 25-23. The Vandals led 19-14 late in the set. An Idaho service errors ended a 4-0 run, handing the ball back to MSU. The Bobcats controlled the momentum late, closing on a 8-2 run to extend play.

Idaho came back strong in the fourth set, hitting a match-high .417 on the attack. The Vandals controlled play, committing just three errors on the attack.  Mau began a 3-0 run for Idaho that opened up the match at 17-12. Two kills from Kaela Straw and a late kill from Haylee Mathis helped Idaho close out the set on a 7-4 run and securing the opening win.

"I thought we responded really well after the third set," Buchanan noted. "If you look at the fourth set we hit .417 and only had three errors. We need to be able to get to the point where we can take a little more control of the match and not play any more than we need to."

Freshman Megan Ramseyer spread the ball across the offense on Thursday. She handed out a season-high 44 assists. Mathis finished with nine kills and eight digs. Varney, in her return to the lineup, led Idaho with 14 digs.
The Vandals stay in the state of Montana for a match on Saturday against Montana. Idaho and the Grizzlies are set for a 1 p.m. PT start.

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