RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Idaho Volleyball closed the Cal Baptist Challenge on a high note, outlasting the host Lancers in a five-set thriller to cap the weekend with a win. After trading the first four sets with CBU, the Vandals (6-3) took over in the decider to leave the Golden State with a win and pick up their third five-set win of the young season.
Cal Baptist came out firing in the opener, hitting a blistering .412 as a team to hold off an Idaho push. The Vandals clawed out of a 19-15 hole to grab a 21-20 lead behind a Csenge Krakoczki ace and kills from Sarah Sullivan and Allie Ferrin, but the Lancers scored five of the final six points to steal the first set 25-22.
Idaho seized control early in the second, bolting to a 5-0 start on kills from Sullivan, Ferrin and Koen Makaula. The Black and Gold never trailed, stretching the margin to 20-15 behind a strong service turn from Krakoczki and a pair of Kiana Greer kills. Cal Baptist crept within 22-21, but Greer and Makaula answered with points, and Keira Kleidon capped it with an ace for a 25-21 set that evened the match.
The Lancers grabbed an early 4-1 edge in the third before Ferrin caught fire, rattling off a stretch of kills that flipped a tie into a 17-11 Idaho lead. Cal Baptist trimmed the deficit late, but Anika Hudson came up with two kills in three rallies, and a Ferrin kill helped the Vandals close it out 25-21 to take a 2-1 lead.
Cal Baptist refused to fold in the fourth, taking a tight frame 25-20 and forcing a decider. Neither side led by more than a couple until the Lancers pulled away late, closing on an Emery DeJong ace to knot the match at two sets apiece.
The Vandals left no doubt in the fifth, jumping ahead 7-3 on a pair of Makaula kills and steady offense from Greer and Ferrin. Idaho pushed the lead to 13-7 and never looked back, with Sullivan hammering home the match-clincher for a 15-9 finish and the five-set win.
Greer paced the Vandals with a match-high 19 kills on .350 hitting to go with eight digs, while Ferrin added 15 kills and a team-best four aces. Sullivan chipped in 11 kills at a .276 clip. Krakoczki ran the offense with 34 assists, and Kyriah Trefren anchored the back row with 15 digs. Idaho hit .213 as a team while piling up 11 blocks.
ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
Makaula and Sullivan earned spots on the Joust all-tournament team for their work across the weekend. Makaula was a fixture at the net from start to finish, opening with 12 kills and six blocks against Sacred Heart, chipping in three aces and steady blocking in the North Dakota win, and closing with five kills and a team-high six blocks against Cal Baptist. Sullivan got stronger as the trip went on, following six kills against Sacred Heart with an 11-kill, .296 outing against North Dakota and another 11 kills at a .276 clip against Cal Baptist, the last of them the match-clinching swing in the fifth.
UP NEXT
Idaho returns to action next weekend at the New Orleans Invitational, opening against host New Orleans on Thursday, Sept. 18.
