It was anything but a warm welcome for the Denver volleyball team in its first conference match as a member of the WAC Thursday night when the Vandals beat the Pioneers in straight sets.
The Vandals (3-8, 1-0 WAC) had lost seven consecutive matches coming into the night after playing some of the nation’s best in the preseason, but snapped the streak in dominating fashion with a decisive win over the Pioneers (6-4, 0-1 WAC).
Junior Ashley Christman said it was nice to get a moral boost after the losing streak.
“It feels great because losing was really disheartening,” Christman said. “To come out and just win like we did really makes us fell better.”
The Vandals will be back at it when they play their second conference game of the year when they face New Mexico State at 7 p.m. Saturday in Memorial Gym. Idaho will be looking for revenge, as the Aggies eliminated Idaho from the WAC Tournament last season.
Buchanan said Saturday’s match against the Aggies will be a tough one.
“They’re a big team,” Buchanan said. “They’re always a good volleyball program. They don’t make a lot of errors, so we’re going to have to amp it up a little bit more for Saturday.”
After fighting off a late run by the Pioneers to take the first set 25-22, the Vandals went on to take the second set, dominating Denver 25-12.
After the break, the Pioneers came out tough in the third set and went step-for-step with Idaho right down to the wire. The Vandals trailed 19-21 at one point, but went on a 6-1 run to finish the set and take the match.
The Vandals may have dominated this first matchup with Denver, but Buchanan said when Idaho visits the Pioneers, she expects a tougher challenge.
Chistman led the Vandals with 13 kills and a .455 hitting percentage. The junior said it was a great feeling to have an offensive night like she did.
“It feels awesome,” Christman said. “I was glad we we’re able to connect offensively like that. It just feels awesome.”
It was an all-around solid night offensively for Idaho. The Vandals hit a season-high .290 as a team and had four different players with over 10 kills, including sophomore Alyssa Shultz who finished with 10 kills and .750 hitting percentage.
Buchanan said she was happy with the way her team came out against Denver.
“Tonight it was a good passing night for us,” Buchanan said. “It was a good offensive distribution night for us and we we’re able to come back in game three when we we’re behind and show some composure and finish the match out.”
Kevin Bingaman can be reached at [email protected]