CHENEY, Wash- It was a great night to be a Vandal in Cheney.

Idaho Volleyball, having already exceeded the previous two seasons' win totals combined, continued Big Sky Conference play in Cheney, WA looking for the program's first league win since the 2022 season. 

They got just that and more, riding an unrelenting offensive effort and some timely Eastern Washington errors to sweep the Eagles on their home court, the first win in straight sets over a Big Sky foe since 2021.

Idaho got started right away with kills from Cayton White and Gabi Smith to take a 2-0 lead and followed that up with runs of six and seven midway through the first set to claim a lead they would not give up. Smith finished the frame the way she started it, putting down the deciding point to start the Vandals out 1-0. 

The second set was more of the same for the visitors as Smith, Sarah Sullivan, and Kiana Greer kept the offense rolling, capitalizing on Eagle errors, including the one that decided the frame. The final bell came down to the wire and featured the most lead changes of the night. Down 6-10 following an ace surrendered, Idaho rattled off four straight to knot it back up. Separate runs by each team swung the momentum back and forth and eventually forced extra rallies with a 24-all lockup. Gabi Smith and Kiana Greer put down the deciding scores to secure the win for the Vandals in Reese Court.

FINAL NOTES

• Idaho held EWU to just .113 hitting as a team, a season-best to date.

• Freshman Kiana Greer recorded her seventh match of double digit kills and digs, collecting 14 and 10, respectively.

  • Greer maintains the team lead in the former with 179

• Gabi Smith tied her career high in kills with eight.

• Season-high 20 digs for Kyriah Trefren

• Cayton White recorded a trio of service aces, increasing her team-leading total to 19

UP NEXT
Week three of Big Sky Conference play puts the Vandals back on the road, traveling to Pocatello, ID for an in-state matchup with the Idaho State Bengals on Oct. 9, followed by a trip to Ogden to take on Weber State. Idaho returns home in week four with home contests vs. Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona.

FOLLOW THE VANDALS
To stay up to date with Idaho Volleyball, follow the team on Instagram(vandalvolleyball), X(IdahoVolleyball) and visit govandals.com