COLUMBIA, Mo. - On the final day of the Mizzou Invitational, Idaho Volleyball put together its most complete performance of the young season, sweeping Western Illinois to move to 2-1 after the opening weekend of play. 

With each passing set, the Vandals took more and more control of the competition, taking the first to extras, winning the second by seven points and the third by a dozen. The result was bolstered by the Brave and Bold putting on more and more pressure at the end to force the Leathernecks into errors and self-inflicted wounds. 

UI came out swinging in the first set, with kills from Allie Ferrin and Sarah Sullivan, plus the first of nine team service aces by way of Kiana Greer propelling their squad to a 3-1 lead early. WIU got its footing, and the two foes alternated 3-0 runs until the Macomb faithful took five in a row to maintain a 15-12 advantage at the media timeout. From there, Greer, Ferrin, and Koen Makaula dialed up the attack, each recording kills to eventually tie the tally at 19. After surrendering a point, the Leatherneck took the next four to bring them within two of the win, but Idaho responded with a 4-1 rally to guarantee extras. The Vandals would outlast the Ohio Valley foe to earn the gritty set win, 28-26.

Riding the high into the second frame, Idaho slowly began to separate itself from the opposition. Sullivan, Makaula, and Sophie Danielson helped them build as much as a 6-2 advantage before WIU began to even the total. Despite this, the Vandals continued to string together runs. Sullivan was in top form throughout, and Anika Hudson was a constant threat at the net. A service error on the part of Western Illinois and a kill from Greer gave Idaho the 2-0 lead.

The third set was all Vandals. After being down 1-3 to start off, they responded with six in a row that featured a Danielson kill, two aces from Csenge Krakoczki, and three forced errors on Western Illinois to make it 7-3. WIU began the climb to even the score, getting within three near the media timeout, to which UI put together eight straight to build the lead to 19-8, erasing all doubt and giving them an insurmountable cushion that would culminate in the sweep.

The Vandals hit .245 as a team, including the dominant third set where they nearly reached the .300 mark. Kiana Greer led the way with nine kills, while Sarah Sullivan, Sophie Danielson, and Koen Makaula each tallied seven. Sullivan and Danielson also tied with a team-high .545 hitting clip. Csenge Krakoczki set her teammates up with a season-high 19 assists while also dishing a game-high three service aces. Keira Kleidon and Allie Ferrin each earned a pair of aces themselves, and Kiana Greer and Zola Zuccolo put up one each for a total of nine points off serves, the most in a three-set match for Idaho since a 2021 win over Southern Utah.

UP NEXT
Idaho will stay on the road, traveling to the Denver Invitational in the mile-high state, taking on Marist, Denver, and SIUE.

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