The University of Idaho Argonaut

Anna McKinney, left, and Katie Tribley jump to block the ball during Thursday’s volleyball game against New Mexico State in Memorial Gym. The Vandals will hit the road this week to play Louisiana Tech on Thursday and New Mexico State again on Saturday. Kate Kucharzyk/Argonaut

After a string of home matches, the Vandal volleyball team is heading out on the road to face Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State.

Idaho is 8-3 in the WAC and has defeated both teams earlier this year in Memorial Gym.

The Vandals are third in the conference and are looking to continue their recent success by adding onto their five-match conference winning streak. Idaho defeated LA Tech earlier in the season in three straight sets and defeated New Mexico State last week 3-1.

After successful wins, the team is coming together. Coach Debbie Buchanan said LA Tech is much improved from last year and Idaho will have to be sure to play their game.

Early in October, Idaho dominated LA Tech and held the advantage in hitting, digs and blocks to beat the Bulldogs in three sets. The Bulldogs are 4-8 in the WAC and are tied for fourth while Vandals stand in third place right behind New Mexico State and Hawaii.

New Mexico State defeated Utah State after losing to Idaho last week. New Mexico State is 9-3 and will be looking to get revenge back in their home gym.

The Vandals are first in the nation in blocking and their game is beginning to come together.  New Mexico State’s blocking is second in the conference behind the Vandals but only 24th in the nation.

One advantage for New Mexico State is they are second in kills while Idaho is behind at fourth, and LA Tech is even further down the line at ninth in the conference. Idaho holds the advantage in service aces and digs ahead of the Bulldogs and the Aggies.

Idaho uses their tough serves to take other teams out of system but they need solid passing to stay in system, Buchanan said.  She said the team is coming together by getting the middles and right sides more involved to have a wider selection of options.

In the first match of the regular season against San Jose State, outside Sarah Conwell had four times more hitting attempts than the middles, compared to last week’s match against New Mexico State where the middles had about half the amount of attempts as the outsides.

Although it is normal for outsides to have more attempts and kills than middles or ride sides, the depth in the offense is allowing more critical players to get involved, and it makes it harder for the other team to adjust defensively, Buchanan said.

Not adjusting to the teams they will be facing but instead focus on playing their game is what Buchanan said the team needs to do to come out with a victory.