Idaho fell to Eastern Washington University 3-1 this afternoon in Memorial Gym. Vandal volleyball remains winless in the Big Sky, with a record of 0-8, 1-20 overall.
The Vandals continued their losing streak, making it 18 straight losses. The Vandals hoped to find a win today against the Eagles, who also have a losing record for the season at 8-12. However, serve and serve receive errors made it difficult for Idaho to find success.
The Vandals had few hitting errors and rarely miscommunicated throughout the match. The Eagles had six service aces in set one alone, while the Vandals only had one. Idaho also added four service errors into the mix in the first set.
Serve and serve receive are the name of the game, and the Vandals failed in both statistical categories early on. They lost set one 25-18. If they had controlled their serve and serve receive, a win could have been on the horizon.
This theory proved true in the second set. The Vandals took the second set 25-17. They cleaned up their side of the net and had few serving, passing and hitting errors.
Zuzanna Wieczorek, a UI freshman right side from Poland, found success at the net. She connected well with freshman setter Lacy Cox, leading to a career high 13 kills.
The Vandals could not keep their momentum going through the third and fourth sets. Unforced errors crept back into the scene, and the Eagles finished out the match 25-18 and 25-20.
The Vandals ended the match with 12 service errors compared to the Eagles’ nine, and seven aces compared to the Eagles’ 11.
Both teams ended the game with 43 kills. The offenses battled back and forth, but with uncontrolled serving and serve receive errors, the Vandals remained winless in the Big Sky.
The Vandals play Idaho State (6-14) Thursday at 6 p.m. in Pocatello.
Joanna Hayes can be reached at [email protected]