After starting the season with a split, the Vandals looked to keep up the momentum from Friday’s games into the Saturday matchup against the University of Portland Pilots. This Friday’s slate included two double-doubles from freshman Kiana Greer and junior Cayton White, who got 26 kills over the doubleheader.
The Pilots came off a 12-16 season in 2024, which included a 7-3 non-conference record. The Pilots came into Saturday off a strong start the day before, sweeping both the Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles and the California State University, Fullerton Titans with an excellent hitting percentage of 0.37 over the day. The Pilots looked to maintain this pace going into the final match of the Vandal Volleyball Invitational.
The match began with Idaho serving, and a quick kill from the Portland Pilots followed. After two quick Pilot points, the Vandals would tie it back up with a kill from Gennari and an ace from freshman Gabi Smith.
After two points were traded, the Pilots went on a 4-0 run to lead 7-3 over the Vandals. The Pilots maintained their control to a 14-10 lead until a four-point rally from the Vandals tied it back up again at 14-14. This momentum was short-lived, however, as the Pilots would proceed to go on another run, making it 22-16.
The run included back-to-back aces from the Pilots. Idaho was not able to slow down the Pilots, losing the set 25-18. During the set, Greer got three kills, building off her performance from yesterday. The set also included two service aces from Smith.
The second set began close, with it beginning 5-5, including two more kills from Greer. The Vandals, off a pilot service error, started on a 6-0 run. Throughout this run, White had three kills to get an 11-5 Vandal lead over the Portland Pilots. The Vandals maintained the lead over the course of the set, yet after losing a couple of points.
The Pilots clawed back into the set, tying it up 19-19 off a 6-3 pilot run. From that point in the set, the Pilots took control of the lead, aided by four Vandal errors, taking the set 25-22. In this set, Greer and White both led the team in kills with four kills in the set. Smith would also get three kills in this set.
The third set began with a Vandal 3-0 lead, looking to avoid the sweep. The pilots quickly responded with their own 3-0 run, tying it up with back-to-back service aces. The set continued to be tight, both teams trading points throughout the set.
Most of Idaho’s points throughout this set came from Portland errors as they limited their own errors, forcing Portland to get points off the attack. However, relying on Portland errors was not a winning strategy as after the Vandals took a 19-17 lead with only four kills and an ace, the Vandals’ attack would struggle down the final stretch of the set. The Pilots would go on an 8-3 run, including six Vandal errors, to win the set 25-22 and complete the sweep.
Despite the sweep, the Vandals were able to stay competitive in all three sets and limited their attack error rate compared to the Fullerton match, reducing the attacking errors per set from 7.8 to 5.
The Vandals’ ultimate struggle was setting up attacks, as the Pilots had 16 more attack opportunities than the Vandals, resulting in the Pilots getting 14 more kills.
Despite this struggle, Greer was able to continue her momentum from the opening day, getting nine kills in this match. The Vandals’ next match will be in Seattle for a three-match tournament, including Manhattan, Seattle and a rematch against CSU Fullerton from Sept. 4-6. The Vandals’ next home match will be with conference opponent Montana on Sept. 27.
Bart Jacquinet can be reached at [email protected].