The University of Idaho women’s volleyball team is off to a rough start this season as only five players from the previous season return. It also opened the season with two losses and one win at the Vandal Volleyball Invitational this weekend.
The Vandals first loss came against Seattle University. They started slow and were never able to take control of the series, falling 3-0. The same held true in the North Dakota State University game. The Vandals were able to secure one set, but ultimately fell 3-1. Their only win came with a sweep against University of California Riverside, who went winless in the tournament.
This team will be on another rough journey, just like the one seen last year as 10 freshmen make up this Vandals’ roster. The Invitational has shown that the team lacks the ability to let their offensive firepower shine. Without the presence of last year’s standouts, it will be up to the very limited veteran presence to try and shore up this team’s mistakes.
The next set of matches for the Vandals will be the Gonzaga Volleyball Tournament in Spokane. Idaho starts the tournament on Sept. 1 with a match against University of California San Diego. This match will be followed up by Gonzaga University and Air Force on Sept. 2.
Ricky Simmons can be reached at [email protected]