PHOENIX—The Idaho Vandals caught fire early and never cooled off in the opening match of the Grand Canyon University Tournament on Friday. The Vandals never allowed Gonzaga to break to the 20-point barrier on the way to the 25-12, 25-16, 25-18 sweep. 

"Today was a total team effort," head coach Debbie Buchanan said after the win. "We were really consistent. We definitely took control in those first two games. I thought our offense was balanced. We were passing well. We did some really good things today."

The Vandals never let Gonzaga get comfortable. The Zags committed 21 total attack errors on the day and totaled just 27 kills. The Vandals trailed in the match just twice, 1-0, at the start of the first and third set. 

Idaho (2-4) jumped out front right from the start, hitting .500 percent to open with a 6-2 lead. The Vandals continued to pile on the Zags, using a 5-1 run to go up 15-7. Junior Sarah Sharp wasted no time in her return to the lineup. She scored five kills in the frame. Sharp's final kill of the set helped propel Idaho to an 8-2 close. Three straight Gonzaga errors closed out the set. The Vandals went errorless on the attack, finishing with a season-high .625 hitting percentage. 

"When you start a match like that it sets a precedence," Buchanan added. "We set the tone of how the match was going to be. We only had two [service] errors in that set. Our goal is to always be six or under. It is just a matter of us continuing to build confidence."

An early 6-0 stretch from the Vandals built a 9-3 lead to start the second. Torrin Crawford and Kaela Straw each had three kills in the set. The Vandals recorded four team blocks at the net once again limiting the Gonzaga attack. GU finished with six kills and eight errors to hit a -.067 in the set. Crawford and Haylee Mathis assisted on a block that gave Idaho a 12-point lead, 22-10. Straw's seventh kill of the match closed out the set for Idaho, 25-16. 

"We have been able to consistently keep teams out of system with what we have been doing from the service line," Buchanan explained. "We did the same thing tonight. They were missing a couple of their players so that was an advantage for us. We did some great things blocking. We executed our plan really well and made some great adjustments from start to finish."

Gonzaga (2-5) fought back in the final set, scoring late to extend the set. Sharp recorded six kills in the finale and Straw added five to push the Vandals over the top. A pair of Gonzaga errors clinched the match for the Silver and Gold, 25-18. 

Sharp and Straw each record a match-high 12 kills. Straw led the team with a .423 attack percentage. Mathis handed out assists on 37 of Idaho's 44 total kills. Klaree Hobart led the team with 10 digs. 

Kaylie Loewen and Chapin Gray combined for 14 of Gonzaga's 27 kills. 

The Vandals will play a pair of matches on Saturday to close out the tournament. The first match of the day is set for 12 p.m. against Fordham. Idaho wraps up the weekend with host Grand Canyon at 7 p.m. 

Live stats are available at GoVandals.com/VBStats. The GCU match will be streamed on YouTube.