Led by sophomore Allison Walker’s fifth consecutive double-double, the Idaho volleyball team completed its seventh sweep of the season, defeating Eastern Washington Wednesday night on the road.
The Vandals (8-9, 2-2 WAC) got the sweep, but it wasn’t the prettiest win they have had this year as they committed 28 team errors. Idaho coach Debbie Buchanan said she wants to see her team play at a higher level.
“We’re still playing a little too soft. We’re making too many hitting errors, we’ve got to clean that up,” Buchanan said. “As we go through the season we should be ratcheting that down and it’s probably gotten worse in the last week and a half, so that’s something we should definitely do better.”
After winning the first set, Idaho fell behind in the second and was trailing 21-19 down the stretch, but Idaho went on a 6-0 run to close out the set and take a commanding 2-0 lead.
The Vandals carried that momentum into the third set and quickly took an 8-0 lead, sealing Eastern Washington’s fate. The Eagles never get closer than five in the set as Idaho took it 25-19, cementing the victory.
Buchanan said it she saw both strengths and weaknesses in her team’s performance.
“We did some good things defensively. We dug a lot of balls and we were able to transition well,” Buchanan said. “We had some younger kids in there tonight, and as we get more and more experience we should start executing better.”
Walker led Idaho with a season-high 24 kills. The junior setter also captured her fifth double-double of the season with 45 assists and 11 digs. Senior libero Cassie Hamilton also pitched in with 22 digs.
The Vandals are off to a solid start this season, but will have to guard against the same trap they fell into last year — inconsistency. This season Idaho has been able to compete with every team they’ve played, but still struggles with errors.
The Vandals will get back to WAC play when they begin a three-match home stand against defending conference champion Utah State at 7 p.m. Friday in Memorial Gym. The Vandals host Nevada Thursday and Fresno State next Saturday.