The Idaho volleyball team found its footing over the weekend, taking home three straight sweeps to take the title at the Grand Canyon University Tournament in Phoenix. Idaho (4-4) extended its winning streak to four, its best since 2015, after taking care of Gonzaga on Friday and defeating both Fordham and the host-team Saturday night.
Junior outside hitter Kaela Straw earned tournament MVP, as she led Idaho with 36 total kills, four per set, while hitting .430 over the weekend with only two errors.
Junior outside hitter Sarah Sharp and junior setter Haylee Mathis were both voted to the all-tournament team. Sharp ended the weekend with 33 kills and Mathis handed out 107 assists, averaging 11.89 per set.
Head coach Debbie Buchanan said in a news release she was pleased with the team’s competition over the weekend and what she saw from Straw.
“Kaela (Straw) had an incredible weekend,” Buchanan said. “She was able to get a lot of touches on the block as well as contribute offensively. There is so many great things going on with this team right now. Everyone is contributing. It is not just one player.”
In the first contest against Gonzaga, Idaho never allowed the Bulldogs to break the 20-point threshold, winning 25-12, 25-16 and 25-18 to take the match.
Sharp returned to the lineup, recording five kills in the first set. A season-best .625 hitting percentage in the set, and two large runs at 5-1 early in the set and 8-2 to close gave the Vandals a 1-0 lead.
After Idaho dominated the second set, Gonzaga fought back in the third to force a closer contest. It was Sharp and Straw who combined for 11 kills in the set to put the Zags away.
Sharp and Straw finished the match both with match-highs at 12 kills.
The Vandals took on a 7-1 Fordham team to begin play on Saturday, but they didn’t trail once.
Idaho outhit the Rams .386 to .043 and committed six errors compared to 22 for Fordham over three dominating sets, 25-11, 25-16 and 25-15.
The Vandals would put on several runs throughout the contest. A 10-1 run midway through the first set was capped off by a late 5-1 run, led by Sharp and Straw’s hitting.
After senior defensive specialist Klaree Hobart’s third ace of the second set put Idaho up 15-10, Sharp and junior outside hitter Reece Carman led a 6-0 push to keep the Rams out of reach.
Idaho again looked dominant early in the third set, but a push by Fordham would give the Rams their only opportunity to take a lead at 6-5. Junior middle blocker DeVonne Ryter and Hobart both recorded aces late, leading to a 6-1 run. Ryter closed the match out with her career-high fourth ace of the match.
Sharp again led the Vandals in kills with nine, while Carman and Straw recorded eight each. Mathis again assisted on almost every kill, recording 34 of 38 and junior outside hitter Alycia Wodke had a team-high 11 digs.
To close out the tournament, Idaho took care of host Grand Canyon in a 25-19, 25-15 and 25-20 sweep. In the closest contest of the weekend, the Vandals and Lopes traded leads in the first set, but a strong, .356 attacking percentage by Idaho and a string of errors by Grand Canyon helped decide the match.
A kill from Mathis broke an 11-11 tie midway through the first and a Straw kill to cap a 6-2 ending run would be the exclamation point.
GCU opened the third set on a 5-0 run, forcing the Vandals to take an early timeout. After a 5-1 run from Idaho cut the lead to 11-9. Carman, Sharp and Straw would contribute several consecutive points, eventually edging out the Lopes on a 3-0 ending run.
Straw led Idaho in kills against the Lopes, knocking down 16. Sharp contributed 12 and Mathis assisted on 36 points.
The Vandals look to claim their fourth consecutive sweep, a mark which has not been done since 2014, in the Santa Clara Tournament Sept. 15 in Santa Clara.
Colton Clark can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @coltonclark95