POCATELLO, Idaho—Idaho volleyball was unable to put an end to its two-match skid on Thursday. The Vandals dropped its first contest in the Battle of the Domes at Idaho State, 25-19, 26-24, 25-20. The loss marks the third in a row for the Vandals.
Idaho falls to 7-4 in the Big Sky and 12-10 overall. The Bengals improve to 7-4 in the conference with the win. The Vandals have not been able to record a set-win since defeating Eastern Washington on Oct. 14.
"I thought offensively we were still able to do some good things," head coach
Debbie Buchanan noted following the match. "It is our serving and passing game that we are just not able to get consistent enough. We are just making too many errors. Our opponents have been playing better, cleaning things up. They have been more consistent."
The Silver and Gold were led by a pair of juniors on the night.
Sarah Sharp recorded her sixth consecutive double-figure kill match, closing with a match-high 18 kills. She was consistently accurate throughout the night, hitting .452 percent on the attack.
Kaela Straw posted 13 kills for the Vandals.
Idaho, as a team hit .310 on the night.
DeVonne Ryter and
Reece Carman both finished without hitting into an error on the attack. Ryter was five-for-five on her attacks, to hit a perfect 1.000 percent. Carman swung .444 percent with eight kills.
Both teams finished with 52 kills, but the Bengals were able to capitalize on the Vandals' errors throughout the night. Idaho State finished the match, hitting .426 percent with just nine attack errors. The Vandals closed with 14 errors on the attack and seven from the service line.
"We have to work a little bit harder to communicate and win that war with our serving and passing," Buchanan added. "That is what we need to make better."
The first set played back and forth in the early points, with each side trading points to a 6-6 tie. Kills from Carman and Straw helped Idaho get out in front 10-7, gaining the first big push of the night. The Bengals shifted the momentum with a run that put ISU ahead 16-14. A 7-2 run for the Bengals closed out the set, forcing Idaho to play from behind.
The Vandals got down early on in the second but used kills from
Torrin Crawford and Sharp to help tie the match at nine. Three consecutive kills from Straw handed Idaho a 17-15 advantage. A 3-0 run from ISU gave the Bengals back the lead at 18-17. Idaho fought back with a 5-2 push to retake the lead, 22-20. The Vandals could not hold on down the stretch, recording two of the last eight points.
Carman gave Idaho its only tie of the final set with a kill on the second point of the frame. Idaho State led the rest of the way. Chloe Hirst gave ISU its largest lead of the set at 16-8. The Vandals fought back to get within two, 22-19, but fell short in the end, 25-20.
"We need to make a jump," Buchanan closed. "We kind of plateaued out. We need to work to make our game a little bit better right now."
The Vandals will look to recover on Saturday with a trip to Eastern Washington. The Eagles got swept by Weber State on Thursday. It will be the second meeting between the two schools this season. The Vandals won at home, 3-1, back on Oct. 14.
Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Idaho volleyball by following the team on Twitter and Instagram, @IdahoVolleyball.
For more information on Idaho Athletics, visit GoVandals.com. Fans can also find Idaho on Twitter and Instagram, @Idaho_Vandals, or on Facebook by searching Idaho Vandals.
