The University of Idaho Volleyball team hit the road this week to Montana after their first two home games against Idaho State University and Weber State University last week. They played their first Montana team, Montana State University, on Oct. 1, taking a hard loss to the Bobcats in three tough sets.
Despite coming out of the game with a loss, the Idaho Vandals played through each set with grit, hitting multiple runs, making great plays, and keeping pace with Montana State at each rally.
The Vandals entered the season on a high note, with a record of 9-3 going into conference play. Now 0-3 in conference and 9-6 overall, their momentum has slowed after three straight losses, with their hitting percentage dropping below 0.200, and most recently against Montana State, attempts dropping below 100 per game, which they haven’t seen since August.
Montana State went in with a record of 8-5, going 1-1 in conference after a win against the University of Montana, and a loss to Northern Colorado last week. Their two strongest senior front row players Joelie Spelts, and Karli Heidemann both lead their teams attack scores on the roster, and gave great performances against the Vandals leading their team with 11 kills each.
Out of the gate, the first set opened with Montana State taking a two point lead, after errors by the Vandals put MSU ahead. Still, pushing forward and finding footing, Idaho hit a four point run, with kills made by sophomore Kiana Greer and senior Lucy Ryan.
Halfway through the set, the score reached 16-16, before the Bobcats pushed ahead where, pioneered by their senior middle blocker Joelie Spelts, they led for the rest of the set, ending 25-20 in favor of Montana State.
Set two went back and forth, point by point in the beginning, but moving into larger runs as the set went on. A few great offensive plays by the Vandals scored their offensive set high for this game of 14 kills, though the number is still largely below their hitting average per set.
Similar to the first set, when the score hit 18-18 the Vandals fell behind, as Montana scored two service aces, and their offensive players picked up the pace to close out the set 25-22.
Now down 2-0 going into the third, the Vandals’ momentum dropped, the Bobcats taking an early 5-0 lead, and keeping control for the rest of the set. The Vandals made a few great plays throughout the game, but as their energy dwindled, their mistakes got the best of them, managing seven attack errors, and giving the Bobcats four service aces by the end of the set.
Their hitting percentage dropped to 0.088, the lowest of the three sets, and struggling to put up a good block, they finished with only two by the end of the game.
Still, though they struggled in a few areas, the Vandals’ resilience showed through in others, as they stayed strong and dropped their error percentage from 26 in the last game against Weber State to just 18 against Montana, working to improve one game at a time.
Montana State led the game in points, kills, aces, and blocks, with the Vandals only ahead of them by 1 assist and 8 digs, with the help of their junior libero Kiera Kleidon leading the team defensively on the court.
Once again for the Vandals, Kiana Greer led Idaho offensively, scoring 16 kills, with Alaina Armstrong and Koen Makaula behind at just 5 kills each for the game against the Bobcats.
Just last week, Greer hit a career benchmark of 500 kills over 42 games against Idaho State University– showing her strong impact on the team’s offense, while also making great defensive plays, putting up 10 digs in the game against Montana.
This Saturday, Oct. 3, the Vandals continue their Montana play against the University of Montana Grizz in Missoula for their fourth conference game. The Grizz are currently 4-10 overall, tying the Vandals 0-3 in conference play after games against Montana State, Northern Colorado, and Eastern Washington University.