SEATTLE—The Villanova Wildcats made sure Idaho's last day in Seattle was not a pleasant one. The opposition from the Big East ended Idaho's stay at the UW/SU Tournament with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-13, 25-22) loss inside the Connolly Complex on Saturday.

"Today was a disappointing day," head coach Debbie Buchanan explained. "We looked a little tired and that cannot be an excuse. We have to be able to come out and play. We were able to do a lot of good things this tournament. We are playing good defense. We faced good pin-hitters today and we had a hard time shutting them down.

"We told the team this is not going to define who we are going to be. We have to learn from this and get back in the gym and make things better. It [the season] is not going to get any easier. We just have to work and getting better and competing at a higher level."

Villanova (3-2), picked to finish fourth in the Big East, was efficient on the attack the entire match. The Wildcats recorded hitting percentages over .375 in the first two sets, grasping momentum with a match-best .400 in the second. Overall, Villanova swung .348 percent, while the Vandals closed the day at .200.

Idaho (3-3) came out with a sense of purpose at the start of the third set. Down 2-0 for the first time this season the Vandals jumped out to a quick 6-1 lead. Villanova called a timeout, trying to slow Idaho's offensive momentum. The Wildcats chipped away at the Idaho lead out of the stoppage, using a 4-0 run to tie and then take the lead at 12-10. Idaho would tie the set five more times down the stretch, but would be unable to regain the lead. Knotted at 22, Villanova scored the final three points to sweep the match.

"We should have started the match playing at the level we did at the start of the third," Buchanan added. "We did not play as good as we did against Washington. We are still working on getting in volleyball shape. That is the tough part about dealing with the injuries we had in the preseason."

Junior Becca Mau led Idaho with eight kills. Torrin Crawford added seven kills and a team-high .429 swing percentage. DeVonne Ryter tallied four kills to go with her match-leading four blocks.

Nova's offense was supplied by Allie Loitz and Amanda Pedersen-Henry, each totaling 13 kills. Pederson-Henry, a high school teammate of Terra Varney, led the match with a .647 attack percentage.

Seven different Vandals recorded digs on the day. Haylee Mathis led the Vandals with eight. Varney, coming off a career-high 27 last night against Seattle U, recorded five. She upped her career total to 1,077, moving within 12 of Janelle Chow and seventh on Idaho's all-time career dig list.

The Vandals return to the Palouse next weekend, taking part in the WSU Cougar Challenge. Idaho opens with two matches on Friday, Sept. 9. They will begin with George Washington at 9:30 a.m. PT, followed by Maryland Eastern Shore at 5 p.m.

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