Volleyball seniors Cassie Hamilton, Alicia Milo and Rylee Walker walked off the Memorial Gym court for the last time Saturday, after the Vandals defeated New Mexico State in four sets.
Senior Night delivered the story-book ending Idaho (13-11, 7-4 WAC) was looking for. The Vandals took down the No. 2 team in the WAC, avenging an earlier loss to the Aggies.
The win caps the season’s 6-1 run at home. The Vandals close the season with three road matches that lead to the WAC Tournament. Idaho coach Debbie Buchanan said her team needs to come out with the same energy away that they have at home.
“We have to take this level of play on the road and we have to sustain that,” Buchanan said. “Last time we played New Mexico State we just had too many errors.”
The win ties Idaho with New Mexico State for second in the WAC, a good turnaround from last season when the Vandals dropped games down the stretch. Buchanan said she likes the way her team is looking heading into the final weeks.
“This is our last home match and it was a great way to finish off Senior Night but we have to keep going,” Buchanan said. “We played a pretty solid match tonight after we got through game one. I think that our games are going to keep getting better.”
The Vandals dropped the first set of the night, but came back and won a close second set to tie the match. The Vandals looked like a different team in the third set, and handled New Mexico State 25-14 in games four and five to clinch the win. Buchanan said she was happy with the way the team finished
“I thought we got better as the match went on,” Buchanan said. “We started serving a little bit tougher. We blocked well. We started picking up the little stuff.”
Senior libero Cassie Hamilton said she was pleased to go out with a win like this one.
“This is one of the best feelings,” Hamilton said. “I think that if I were to now be asked which was my favorite win of all time, was it would probably be this game.”
Hamilton said the match definitely boosted the team’s confidence as it finishes out the regular season.
“I was just so happy we put it all together,” Hamilton said. “I think that we have always had that ability, but I think we have lacked confidence, but I don’t think that is an issue anymore.”