The University of Idaho Vandals looked to rebound after two opening day losses. However, this Saturday morning, Sept.13, the University of North Dakota swept the Vandals 3-0 and kept them winless at the North Dakota State University and University of North Dakota tournament, dropping them to 2-7 on the season.
The Vandals have had a rough go in the NDSU/UND tournament, losing three close games. In set one, North Dakota led with a strong offensive debut, with 12 kills and a 0.189 hitting percentage. The Vandals had a zero-hit percentage and did not perform well defensively in the first set, leading to a 19-25 win by North Dakota.
In the second set, Idaho put up a much higher stand with 16 kills,nearly matching North Dakota’s hit percentage with 0.310 percent. The Vandals had only eight kills in the previous set, as well as eight errors.
They made a comeback in this set with only three errors and had a much higher attack rate. North Dakota had a strong set as well with 17 kills and only two errors, but the Vandals were able to close the gap and fall in a close 25-23 set.
With the third set, Idaho had 38 attempts and managed to get 14 kills, matching North Dakota’s kills. Idaho was much more efficient in the set with a 0.211 hitting percentage while North Dakota’s was 0.073 percent. In a close high-pressure situation, the Vandals pushed and really
tried to pull the set away, although it ended with North Dakota winning the set 29-27. The leaders of the Idaho Vandals had a great game, with Cayton White having 15 kills and being an offensive weapon. The Vandals relied on White to put away attacks and force pressure onto the Fighting Hawks.
On the flip side, Kiana Greer had a great defensive stand with 13 digs, helping the Vandals a lot in tight sets. Chiara Gennari also had a great performance with 11 kills and a high hitting percentage. Gennari also did a great job with blocking and helped a lot defensively.
The Idaho Vandals have been in very close situations with winnable matches, proving they can do it. The past three days have been a rough go, and they will be taking a rest and looking forward to the rest of their schedule.
The Vandals will head down to Nashville, Tennessee for their last non-conference matches as they try to get back in the win column. The Vandals will participate in the Fort Hays State University Tigers Invitational next weekend, where they will take on Indiana State University at 8 a.m. and Tennessee State University at 4 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 19.
The Vandals will close out the invitational with a match against the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 9 a.m.
Timmon Friel can be reached at [email protected].