DENVER, Colo.- Idaho Volleyball wrapped up the Denver Invitational on a high note, taking down Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville (SIUE) on Saturday morning in Hamilton Gymnasium.
Making a strong statement on Thursday with an opening day win, the Vandals were grounded in a setback against the host Pioneers on Friday before regrouping and earning a solid win over the Cougars in the Mile High City. Having a hard time getting into an offensive rhythm vs. Denver, UI put on a hitting clinic on Saturday, posting as high as a .414 clip in the fourth set and .295 overall.
The first set went into the media break with a two-point advantage in favor of the Black and Gold after a pair of runs by each team, bolstered on the Vandals' end by Allie Ferrin, Sarah Sullivan, and Anika Hudson. From there, the Cougars went on a late run to capture as much of a five-point advantage, which they would close out the set with.
The second frame would also start out strong on the part of SIUE, with Idaho down 7-10 early. From there, the Vandals exploded, taking ten of the next dozen points with Kiana Greer and Ferrin putting up points while Csenge Krakoczki and Hudson controlled the net. Ferrin and Greer wouldn't be denied as Idaho tied up the set score.
Coming out of the break, the third was just as back-and-forth as its predecessor. Neither team could earn more than a four-point advantage. Sophie Danielson and Gabi Smith put up key points for the Vandals, ultimately propelling them to take a 2-1 lead. From there, momentum was firmly swung in the direction of the Moscow faithful. UI strung together four separate runs of at least three points, aided by net pressure that forced the Cougars into their lowest hitting total (.129) of the day. This culminated in the ten-point fourth-set W and the match for Idaho.
Allie Ferrin had far and away her best outing as a Vandal, posting a game-high 17 kills. Kiana Greer put up 13 for the second day in a row. Csenge Krakoczki put up a season-best 30 assists and Kyriah Trefren totaled 18 digs as Idaho outpaced SIUE in nearly every team statistic.
UP NEXT
The Vandals stay on the road for the non-conference slate, heading to California for the CBU Challenge, hosted by Cal Baptist. First serve on day one, vs. Sacred Heart, is scheduled for 2:00 PM PT on Thursday, Sep. 10.
