NEW ORLEANS, La. - It took a gritty effort, but Idaho Volleyball opened the New Orleans Invitational with a hard-earned four-set win over host LSU New Orleans on Thursday, moving to 7-3 on the year, the best record after the first ten matches of the year for the program since 2008.
LSUNO set the tone early in the opener, hanging with the Vandals through 11 ties before slamming the door. Idaho led 16-13 in the middle of the frame, but the Privateers answered with a run fueled by three service aces down the stretch and back-to-back kills to steal the first set 25-21.
Idaho looked to be in control of the second, opening a 15-9 cushion, but LSU New Orleans clawed all the way back and grabbed a 24-23 set point. Undeterred, the Moscow faithful rattled off the final three points after a Privateer service error, followed by Anika Hudson picking up a kill and combining with Sophie Danielson on a block to steal the set and even the match.
The Vandals carried that momentum into the third, building an 18-13 lead before the Privateers knotted it at 20. Idaho answered a Sarah Sullivan kill followed by back-to-back kills from Greer to spark the closing push and a Koen Makaula kill to finish off a 25-21 win and a 2-1 match lead.
The fourth was another dogfight. LSUNO led 18-16 before Idaho ripped off five straight to grab a three-point edge, only for the Privateers to storm back and earn a 24-23 set point of their own. For the second time on Thursday, Idaho came back to force extras. Alaina Armstrong tied it, Makaula served an ace, and Danielson hammered home the match-clincher for a 26-24 finish and the 3-1 victory.
Greer paced the Vandals with a match-high 16 kills, while Sarah Sullivan added 15 on .333 hitting. Hudson was a force in the middle, hitting .533 with nine kills, and Danielson chipped in nine of her own. Makaula anchored the net with a team-high six block assists as Idaho piled up 10 blocks, and hit .389 to boot. Csenge Krakoczki and Zola Zuccolo split setting duties with 28 and 24 assists, respectively, and Idaho hit .275 as a team, the second-best to date this season.
The 7-3 record after ten contests is the best start for UI since 2008, and one of the best all-time since the Tom Hilbert era of the 1990s when the Vandals started 8-2 or better from 1994-96.
UP NEXT
Idaho continues the action at the New Orleans Invite on Friday against Florida A&M. First serve is set for 1:30 PM PT.
