Idaho lost at Eastern Washington Friday night in a thrilling three sets to one. The stat sheet may paint one picture, but those who watched the game know that it was closer than it seemed. Hustle, heart and determination is the ethos you see from this team when they play.
Both teams started out strong in the first set, keeping the score close. University of Idaho’s big three of the night, freshmen outside hitter Olivia Gloeckner, graduate student outside hitter Allison Munday and freshmen outside hitter Taryn Vrieling, kept the set within reach until EWU stormed to a 19-10 lead. The Vandal’s didn’t let the score stop them from giving it their all, but they were unable to stop the Eagles as Eastern took the set 25-17.
Set two continued the pace set by the previous round. Both teams were neck and neck, tying it at 13-13 off a kill by Vrieling and a service ace from Munday. The tie wouldn’t last long before Eastern went on a 7-0 run behind big plays from sophomore right side outside hitter Alyssa Radke and junior outside hitter Sage Brustad. Both players each got two kills to make the score 20-13. The Vandals outscored the Eagles over the next 11 serves, but it wasn’t enough as the Eagles won set two 25-19.
While the first two sets set the stage for an Eastern Washington dominated game, Idaho had other plans. Five kills and a service ace from Munday led the Vandals to a 7-2 lead to start set three. Once Vrieling got involved with two kills of her own and grew Idaho’s lead to 9-3, Eastern was unable to stop the Vandals offense.
Gloeckner Vrieling and Munday were huge parts of the Vandals set three win, but the efforts of freshmen libero Aine Doty can’t go unnoticed. She gave her all as she slid and dived for multiple saves. The Vandals showed heart and hustle in set three, proving they belong just as much as anyone else. Most of Eastern’s points came from Idaho mistakes, but the mistakes never cost the Vandals much as they took set three 25-14.
Set four was both teams’ pinnacle of the night. The Vandals were looking at the jaws of defeat but continued to hustle and play hard. They led most of set four before the Eagles took an 18-17 lead and didn’t look back. The final score was 25-19 to end the match 3-1.
Despite what the box scores say, this Vandal volleyball team is fun to watch as they put everything out there to try and win these games. Excitement plays are this team’s bread and butter. Idaho’s big three all ended the night with double digit kills. Gloeckner had 13 while Munday and Vrieling both had 12. The Vandals will continue their road trip as they play the University of Northern Colorado Bears on Oct. 20 and the Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks on Oct. 22.
Ricky Simmons can be reached at [email protected]