NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – Idaho volleyball showed its heart on Saturday night, battling back to defeat CSUN in five sets in the CSUN/Pepperdine Challenge.
Reece Carman led the squad with 14 kills in her first action of the season.
Kaela Straw and
DeVonne Ryter each had 10 kills on the night, while
Haylee Mathis had 34 assists.
The first set got out to a slow start for the Vandals, with the Matadors building a four-point lead early. Idaho stuck with it, however, and chipped away to make things interesting, before eventually taking its first lead at 23-22. CSUN responded well, scoring four of the next five points to take the set, 26-24.
The Vandals kept that late momentum alive in the second set, jumping out to an early lead and building throughout. Idaho would get up by as many as eight in the set, and cruise to the 25-20 win.
CSUN jumped out to a big lead to start the third set, scoring the first five points. The Vandals were able to cut into the deficit on a few occasions, but the Matadors maintained a lead throughout. In the end, CSUN took the set 25-21.
As they did in the second, Idaho jumped out to a lead in the fourth. After jumping out to a 6-3 lead, the Vandals maintained throughout before going up big behind a 7-1 run midway through the set. In the end, Idaho took the fourth, 25-19, to force a deciding fifth set.
The Vandals controlled the fifth set. CSUN was able to take a 5-3 lead, but the Vandals turned to
Paige Rupiper who rattled off three straight aces to give Idaho a lead it would not give up. The Vandals handled their business the rest of the way, winning 15-10 to take the match.
The Vandals wrap up competition at the CSUN/Pepperdine Challenge on Sunday, against North Texas in Malibu. The match is set to start at 10 a.m. Live stream and stat links are available on the volleyball schedule page.
Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Idaho volleyball by following the team on Instagram and Twitter, @IdahoVolleyball. Visit GoVandals.com/Tickets for more information on season and single match tickets.
