Volleyball | 09/07/2017

Idaho vs Gonzaga	Idaho vs Fordham	Idaho at Grand Canyon
Friday, Sept. 8/4 p.m. PT	Saturday, Sept. 9/12 p.m. PT	Saturday, Sept. 9/7 p.m. PT
Phoenix, Ariz./Live Stats	Phoenix, Ariz./Live Stats	Phoenix, Ariz./Live Stats/Live Stream

The Vandals (1-4) will continue on the road this weekend to compete at the GCU Tournament, in Phoenix, Ariz.

Idaho will face Gonzaga (2-4) on Friday, Sept. 8 at 4 p.m. PT, and on Sept. 9, the Vandals will take on Fordham (6-1) and Grand Canyon (4-2). Idaho has a long series history with Gonzaga dating back to 1976. The Vandals have met the Lopes twice back in 2013 when both schools were members of the WAC. Idaho has never faced-off against Fordham.

It is a homecoming of sorts for junior DeVonne Ryter and sophomore Paige Rupiper. Both players hail from the state of Arizona. Ryter is from Sedona, while Rupiper stakes claim to Phoenix.

Quotable: "[Last week] Built our confidence because we got our first win. That is always a good feeling. We all played as a team. It was a fun trip for us and we all really came together as a team." - Junior Kaela Straw.

TENURE: Head coach Debbie Buchanan returns for her 18th season. She is the longest tenured coach at Idaho, taking over the program in 2000.

EXPERIENCED: Idaho returns seven letterwinners from the 2016 season, including seniors Torrin Crawford and Klaree Hobart

SEASON OPENERS: The Vandals are 10-8 in season openers under Coach Buchanan

ABOUT GONZAGA: The Bulldogs went 2-1 last week, hosting the Gonzaga Invitational. They defeated Arizona State (3-2) and Nevada (3-0). Kaylie Loewn totaled 32 kills and a .312 attack percentage to go with her eight blocks for the tournament. Gonzaga averaged 13.64 kills per set last weekend, hitting .210 percent as a team. ALL-TIME SERIES: 39-15; Last meeting, 2010.

ABOUT FORDHAM: The Rams enter the weekend 6-1 on the season. Olivia Fairchild was named Co-A-10 Player of the Week. She has recorded three double-doubles this season. She totaled 42 kills in the Ram's 2-1 showing at the Valley/Rose Hill Classic. Fordham's lone loss came in three sets against Cleveland State to open the tournament. They bounced back with wins over Rider and Saint Peter's. FIRST MEETING 

ABOUT GCU: The Lopes went 1-2 last week at the Cactus Classic in Tucson. GCU rallied from down 0-2 to defeat Eastern Kentucky in five sets. Teagan DeFalco and Clair Kovensky were both named to the Cactus Classic All-Tournament Team. Kovensky leads the Lopes with 3.33 kills per set, while DeFalco averages 3.04. The Lopes went 3-0 to open the season at the Syracuse Tournament, beating Syracuse, Siena and Niagara.  ALL-TIME SERIES: 2-0; Last Meeting, 2013.

FOLLOW: Links to the live stats can be found at GoVandals.com/VBStats. The match against GCU will be streamed on YouTube. Fans can also follow along live on Twitter, @IdahoVolleyball.