The Idaho Vandals volleyball team played Sacramento State University this past Friday, Nov. 21, for senior night and gave the second-best team in the conference a strong battle. The match ended in a 3-0 sweep by Sacramento State, even though the Vandals gave a solid effort and played better than the first time they played the Hornets earlier this season. There were some strong performances going into the post-season.
Looking at the first set, Sacramento State had a very high hit percentage of 0.233 and came out swinging against the Vandals. The game started with a 6-2 lead from the Hornets, and then the Vandals came back and were winning 13-12. After this momentum swing, the game was tied at 16 and the Hornets made a nine-point run to win the first set 25-16.
In the second set, Sacramento State started with a large lead in the beginning, pulling a 7-1 lead over the Vandals. Idaho then came back and made it even with strong efficiency. The Hornets then took a lead that was hard to come back from for the Vandals, and they won the set 25-16.
For set three, the Vandals made an obvious change in game plan and were much more competitive. The whole set was close, staying between 3-4 points and had the audience on their toes. Idaho had nine kills with a 0.167 hitting percentage and made it harder for the Hornets to defend their offense. Sacramento State stayed consistent and had 15 kills along with a 0.281 hit percentage.
Although the Vandals had a hard time getting started in the first two sets, they played a fierce third set and lost the final set 25-19, losing the match 3-0.
The spirits were high to start off the night since everyone was celebrating Madu Fontes and her highly successful career in college. As an outside hitter and after her two years at Florida Southwestern State College, she came to Idaho and was named to the Big Sky all-academic team.
Ben Kasun, the assistant coach for the Idaho Vandals, spoke about her impact on the Vandal program.
“It’s obviously an emotional day with it being senior night,” he said. I think that kind of led to a slow start for us. And then once Sac State was able to get the lead, it was hard to come back from that.”
Playing such a strong team to end of the year was tough for the Vandals, although they seemed to still enjoy the night and the end to such an incredible season. The Vandals had a very successful year compared to previous years, and they will look forward to the future with such an outstanding class of underclassmen they have a bright future ahead.