Montana State University (8-3) brought out the broom Thursday night in Memorial Gym, sweeping the University of Idaho volleyball team in three straight sets.
The Vandals came into the conference opener as clear underdogs, holding a record of 1-11, with a sole win against University of California Riverside.
The 2023 roster boasts nine freshman and has zero seniors, apart from a graduate transfer, middle blocker Renata Lopez Morales. But second-year Head Coach Chris Gonzalez said the team’s youth has nothing to do with the losing record or the loss against the Bobcats.
“We haven’t really discussed being young, even though we are,” Gonzalez said. “For us, it’s either you are going to try to compete, or you are not going to try to compete. So, it really doesn’t matter what age you are.”
The undoubtedly youthful team still struggled to find its footing against Montana State. The Vandals added a twelfth loss to their record after the Bobcats claimed the court with scores of 25-23, 25-22 and 25-15.
Gonzalez said the team is still struggling to find a common language. Several international recruits are starring for the Vandals this year, including standout graduate transfer Morales. Gonzalez said the different types of play from different countries just haven’t meshed into an understandable Vandal language.
The first set opened the door for hope in sets two and three, but the Vandals couldn’t seem to find their way to a win. With number six libero sophomore Aine Doty leaving after set one due to back spasms, the lineup shifted. The Vandals had difficulty adjusting to substitute libero, sophomore Duru Vardan.
The Vandals trailed by as much as seven points in the first set before crawling within two. Powerhouse outside, sophomore Taryn Vrieling, paired with Morales, brought the Vandals within reach.
The close first set poured over into the second. The Vandals had virtually zero hitting errors, leading the score up to 22-21. However, the Bobcats went on a 4-0 run to close out the set.
The final set proved lackluster from the start. Serve receive shanks, holes in the block and overall miscommunication put the Vandals in a 10-point deficit, trailing the Bobcats 13-3. Montana State’s double-digit run was impossible to recover from, leaving the Vandals with a 25-15 third set loss.
Thursday’s straight-set loss was the Vandals’ seventh of the season. With only one conference win in the 2022 season, the Vandals are looking to not repeat history. Gonzalez continued to focus on the night’s positives.
“To be successful at this level, when you are playing a good team, and Montana State is a really good team, you have to be able to play with equal amounts of aggression and patience,” Gonzalez said. “When you do that, you make clever decisions and less errors. They had 13 errors and we had 16, which is a really, really low number. I was really happy with that.”
The Vandals ended with an attack percentage of .218, the highest of the season.
Gonzalez emphasized that the conference-opening loss was not because of youth. It was not because of errors. It was because of injury and inconsistency.
“I would give us a C+ for tonight,” Gonzalez said.
The Vandals head to Flagstaff, Arizona, next to face the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (3-9) for their second conference game on Sept. 23.
Joanna Hayes can be reached at [email protected]