MOSCOW, Idaho - Idaho Volleyball pushed Eastern Washington to the brink in a pair of extra-point sets on Saturday night, but couldn't close out and fell in four sets at Memorial Gym.
After a narrow first set loss to open the night, the Vandals pushed back-to-back frames to extra points, taking a marathon second set before dropping the final two and slipping to 12-14 overall and 3-11 in Big Sky play.
The opener stayed tight into the middle stages, knotted at 13 before Eastern Washington pulled away, scoring five straight to go up 18-13. Idaho answered with a string of Kiana Greer kills and an ace from the sophomore to pull within one, and a Gabi Smith block once again cut the deficit to a point. From there, the Eagles closed it out from there behind with a pair of kills to take the opener by three.
The lengthy second set featured 14 total ties and 18 lead changes between the Rolling Hills rivals. Eastern Washington led 15-11 at the media break, but Smith went to the service line with Idaho down 17-14, and the Vandals rattled off four straight, highlighted by a shared block from Koen Makaula and Anika Hudson to grab an 18-17 lead. Neither side could pull away from there. Idaho erased an Eagle set point at 26-25, and after Eastern Washington tied it at 27, Keira Kleidon, playing on the outside, and Sarah Sullivan put down back-to-back kills to win it, the same score as the first set of Idaho's win in Cheney in October.
Eastern Washington built a 17-12 lead in the third, but the Vandals battled back again. Kailee Wakatake's serve sparked a four-point run that cut the deficit to 19-18, and a combo block from Hudson and Csenge Krakoczki helped tie it at 21. Sophie Danielson checked in and made a spark right away, putting down kills to tie it at 23 and give Idaho set points at 24-23 and 25-24. The Eagles managed to climb back each time and eventually ended the period with back-to-back kills and a late block to take a 2-1 lead.
Idaho led 9-7 early in the fourth, and after Eastern Washington moved ahead after the media TO, the Vandals rallied to tie it at 18 on a Kleidon ace and at 19 on a Smith kill. The Eagles pulled ahead again, and while two late Danielson kills cut the deficit to one again, Eastern Washington scored the final three points to close out the set 25-21.
Greer led all players with 19 kills and added 11 digs for a double-double, while Danielson posted 11 kills on an impressive .529 hitting. Smith added nine kills on .286 hitting and three blocks, including two solo, and Kleidon chipped in seven kills and 11 digs. Krakoczki handed out 44 assists and led the Vandals with 14 digs, and Sullivan was efficient with five kills on seven swings.
UP NEXT
Idaho's homestand concludes next week with the Treasure State's Grizzlies and Bobcats, starting with a Whiteout against Montana on Thursday, Nov. 12. First serve is set for 6 p.m. PT.
TICKETS
To secure tickets to Vandal Volleyball's final two home contests, including Senior Night on Nov. 14, click the link HERE.
