NEW ORLEANS, La. - Idaho Volleyball saved a statement for the final stop of its road-heavy non-conference slate, rolling past Cal State Fullerton in four sets on Saturday to complete a perfect run through the New Orleans Invitational. The win pushed the Vandals to 9-3 and capped a 3-0 weekend, sending them into Big Sky play riding a five-match win streak. Sophie Danielson led the charge with a career-high 18 kills on a .500 hitting clip in a four-set win in which UI widened the gap each frame.
The opener was a battle. The Titans held a 21-19 edge late before the Vandals flipped the script, scoring six of the final eight points. This was punctuated by a Zola Zuccolo-Koen Makaula block and an Alaina Armstrong kill to steal the first frame with a two-point edge.
Cal State Fullerton returned fire in a see-saw second set that featured 13 lead changes. The Titans edged ahead down the stretch and closed it out 25-21 to even the scoreboard.
Idaho seized control in the third and never trailed, pulling away behind Danielson and a late serving run from Kailee Wakatake, who notched a pair of aces during the closing surge to push the Vandals to a 25-16 win and back in front.
The fourth was all Idaho. Junior Keira Kleidon served up three aces in the opening points to spark a 7-1 start, and the Black and Gold never let off the gas. They hit .421 in the set and cruised to a 25-12 rout to close out the match and one of the best non-conference seasons in program history.
Danielson paced the Vandals on Saturday with 18 kills on .500 hitting, the former a career high. Kiana Greer added 12 kills of her own, and Armstrong chipped in nine. Makaula was efficient again with eight kills at a .333 clip. Zuccolo ran the offense with 40 assists, far and away a career-best. Idaho served up eight aces, four from Wakatake and three from Kleidon, to tally a total of 29 on the weekend and 84 in twelve matches.Â
ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
Greer was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after leading Idaho in kills twice in three matches, piling up 45 for the weekend, to go with six service aces. Kleidon joined her on the all-tournament team, anchoring the back row while providing a serving spark with six aces across the trip, including three to open the fourth set against Fullerton and two more during the fifth-set clincher over Florida A&M, the win over the Rattlers featuring one of the best serving performances in school history with 18 total aces.
UP NEXT
The trip closes a season-opening run in which Idaho played its entire non-conference schedule away from Moscow. The Vandals finally return home to open Big Sky play on Thursday, Sept. 24, hosting Idaho State at Memorial Gym. First serve is set for 6 p.m. PT.
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