The Idaho Vandals volleyball team traveled to Ogden, Utah, on Saturday, Oct. 11, to play Weber State in a tough conference battle. Weber State is leading in the Big Sky Conference with a 3-1 record and 11-5 overall. This was the biggest test so far for the Vandals in the season. The last time Idaho won was in 2018, at home. Despite the Vandals’ best efforts, the Wildcats jumped on the Vandals early and swept the match 3-0.
In the first set, Weber State took a slow lead and held onto it throughout the set. The Vandals did have an impressive 0.276 hitting percentage, but that did not compare to the four errors and a daunting offensive performance by the Wildcats. Weber State had an impressive 0.483 hit percentage and 17 kills in just the first set. The Wildcats won the set 25-18.
In the second set, Idaho made a stand and stayed close with the Wildcats, tying the score at 18. The Vandals had a low hit percentage, just 0.030, but that didn’t stop them from staying toe to toe. After the tie, it was 21-20 before Weber State pulled ahead and took the set with a 25-21 win.
In the third set, Weber State pulled away at the very beginning with a commanding 8-2 start. The Wildcats had a high 0.520 hit percentage, which created momentum that was hard for the Vandals to stop to stop for the Idaho still had 11 kills and put in a strong effort to try and stop the Wildcats. After the
lead, the Wildcats pulled away and won the set 25-16, winning the match 3-0.
Redshirt senior outside hitter Cayton White and middle hitter junior Koen Makaula led the match with kills and put up a strong performance, with White having nine kills and Makaula having eight.
Freshman setter Aleina Manaois had a great game with 26 assists and 7 digs. The players had a good night despite playing such tough competition and proved to themselves they can keep up with the best the Big Sky has to offer.
The Idaho Vandals hope to come back and achieve another conference win in their next match.
Idaho still has 11 games left in the season and plenty of time to improve and find what the team is best at. The Vandals will take on Northern Colorado on Thursday, Oct. 16, in the Memorial Gym for their second conference home match of the season.
Timmon Friel can be reached at [email protected]