MOSCOW, Idaho - Capping off the back half of a doubleheader, Idaho Volleyball punctuated Homecoming Day for Idaho Athletics by taking down Southern Utah in four sets, giving the Gem State's flagship institution a 2-0 record over the Thunderbirds on Saturday.
The Black and Gold took control midway through the opener. Clinging to a 7-6 lead, Idaho reeled off six of the next seven points behind the serving of Keira Kleidon, who delivered a pair of aces during the run to force an SUU timeout. UI closed the frame with a 5-1 run, where Sarah Sullivan and Koen Makaula chipped in points, and Kiana Greer finished it off with an ace for a nine-point win in the opener.
Idaho saved its biggest rally for the following frame. With the Vandals up 5-3, Kailee Wakatake held her ground at the serving line on seven straight points, a stretch that included a pair of blocks each shared by Anika Hudson and Greer to blow the set open at 12-3. Southern Utah answered with a rally of its own to pull within four, but Idaho responded with another 6-1 effort and cruised home, 25-17, for a two-set lead, bolstered by late-stage net control from Hudson and Allie Ferrin as well as more aces from Greer and Sullivan.
The Thunderbirds kept the match alive in the third, jumping to an early 8-4 lead before costly errors and a pair of aces from sophomore Csenge Krakoczki put Idaho in front 10-9. The visitors regained control from there, building a 20-13 cushion and catching the hosts off rhythm. The Vandals rallied all the way back to within 22-21 on another Krakoczki ace, but Southern Utah held on to take it by three.
The Vandals left no doubt in the fourth. Idaho broke out to a 4-1 start with Gabi Smith at the service line, and the Issaquah native later put up a solo block during a 3-0 run that pushed the lead to 14-6. As she has done before, Greer took over from there, scoring five kills while hitting a .625 clip in the set, the last two of her points on back-to-back swings to close out an eight-point set win and the match.
Greer led all players with 18 kills on a season-high .485 hitting and added two aces, bringing her total in the latter to a team-leading 33, also tied for the second-highest total in the Big Sky. Anika Hudson anchored the Idaho block with seven total blocks to go with five kills on .333 hitting, while Gabi Smith posted five blocks of her own, including a solo. Krakoczki dished up 25 assists and served a team-high three aces. As a team, the Vandals hit .231, the fifth-highest total of the season, and held Southern Utah to a .075 clip, the lowest of the year.
UP NEXT
Idaho returns to the road next week, opening at Northern Arizona on Thursday, Oct. 29 and closing out at Portland State on Halloween night, Oct. 31.Â
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To stay up to date with Idaho Volleyball, follow the team on Instagram (vandalvolleyball), X (IdahoVolleyball) and visit govandals.com
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