The University of Idaho Argonaut

University of Idaho middle blocker Debbie Pederson jumps up to spike the ball during the volleyball game against Boise State Thursday in Memorial Gym. The Vandals won their final regular season match against BSU, impoving to 15-14 overall and 11-5 in the WAC.Kate Kucharzyk/Argonaut

After a long, competitive season, Idaho is set at the No. 3 seed and heading to the WAC tournament in Vegas next week.

Hawaii finished at No.1 in conference, with a 16-0 record. Right behind them is the New Mexico State Aggies and then Idaho. Boise State, Nevada and Fresno State will also be joining the tournament, but their seeds will be determined by the outcome of the matches this week.

Idaho will face the No. 6 seed at 5 p.m. on Monday at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The No. 6 seed could be Boise State or Utah State.

No matter what teams the Vandals face Monday, they are expecting tough competition.

“The last thing we want to do is overlook an opponent,” coach Debbie Buchanan said.

Depending on the outcomes of the games this week, Idaho could again face Boise State in the first round of the conference playoffs — if BSU finishes sixth or is tied for fifth with Fresno State, then the Broncos will face the Vandals.

Buchanan said it could be a good thing if they play BSU in their first match because the team would be fresh in their minds from Thursday.

If the Vandals win Monday night they will play No. 2 New Mexico State on Tuesday. Idaho split 1-1 with the New Mexico State Aggies in the regular season. Buchanan said the team has to execute no matter who their opponent is.

“It all comes down to execution,” Buchanan said. “We need to focus on the right things.”

Once the week is over and the tournament seeds are set, Idaho will focus in on their first match. The Vandals have lost tournaments by looking past the first match before, Buchanan said, and the team’s focus needs to be on Monday’s game. Last year Idaho went into the WAC tournament ranked No. 3 and defeated the No. 6 seed Nevada before losing to the No. 2 seed Hawaii. This year, Idaho will stress focusing on one match at a time.