MOSCOW, Idaho—Junior Sarah Sharp led all players with 15 kills on Saturday, but it was not enough for Idaho to hold off Portland State. The Vandals fell in three sets, 25-23, 25-21, 25-23, to move to 7-3 in the Big Sky Conference.

Sharp was one of two Vandals to reach double-figure kills. She hit .400 percent on the night, committing just one error on the attack. Junior Kaela Straw closed the match with six kills in the final set to bring her total to 10 for the match.

"We have to make a change right now in how we are competing and working as a team," head coach Debbie Buchanan explained. "Right now we do not have anyone stepping up like we need to. We have to just keep making that push and working on it."  



Portland State (17-5, 8-2 BSC) began with an early 5-0 run, helping the Vikings take the momentum. PSU continued to build its lead, pulling out in front with a 12-4 advantage. Kills from Torrin Crawford and Sarah Sharp helped Idaho get back on track, cutting the PSU lead down to 12-7. The Vandals continued to battle, using a 5-0 run to close the deficit to 16-14. Back-to-back kills from Sharp evened the set at 23, but the Vikings were able to close out Idaho on the next two points.

"I felt like we battled and came back," Buchanan noted. "We were able to tie that up in the first. We are just not finishing. We have to work to finish matches right now. We had our opportunities. We had them last time. We had them tonight. If we want to finish with the goals we have in mind, this is not the type of team that is going to do it."

The Vikings opened up an early 72 lead in the second set, forcing Idaho to play from behind. The Viking lead grew to seven, 18-11 before Idaho would get on the offensive. The Vandals used kills from Haylee Mathis, Sharp and Crawford to go on a 7-0 run that tied the match at 18. A kill from DeVonne Ryter kept Idaho within two points, 23-21, in the waning moments of the set. PSU strung together the final two points to claim the 2-0 lead.

Idaho (12-9, 7-3 BSC) fell in an early 3-0 whole to start the third. The team battled back to gain a 6-5 lead off a kill from Carman. The Vikings used a 6-1 build a four-point advantage at 11-7. Play bounced back and forth until Idaho put together a late 7-1 run to retake the lead 22-20. Idaho was unable to capitalize on its late success. Portland State answered with a 4-0 run to regain control, 24-22. A kill from Sarah Brennan ended the night in favor of the Vikings.

Portland State out-killed Idaho, 52-47. Three Vikings hit in double figures. Katy Wilson led the Vikings with 12 kills on 20 swings. Mikaelyn Sych hit .667 percent with 10 kills. Caitlin Bettenay finished with a double-double, totaling 10 kills and 12 digs.

The Vandals outhit PSU, .290-.263 percent. Ryter led the team, hitting .545 percent to go with her six kills. Carman ended the night with nine kills. Crawford led Idaho with four blocks to go with her four kills. Alycia Wodke led the match with 21 digs.

The Vandals head back out on the road next week for a pair of matches. The team will travel down to Pocatello on Thursday to take on Idaho State in the "Battle of the Domes."