Six Idaho volleyball players will play their last home match Saturday night at Memorial Gym when the Vandals take on Texas-Arlington on Senior Night.
Vandal seniors Jenny Feicht, Alex Sele, Ryann Carter, Janelle Chow and Julia Church will be honored after the match on Saturday. Allison (Walker) Baker, who is listed as a junior, will not return for Idaho next season after she graduates in December.
Church said it’s strange to think about playing her last match in Moscow.
“It’s definitely a surreal thing to think about,” Church said. “This is my fifth year at UI. It goes by fast and the years fly by. It’s been a great journey and I’m excited for my last night in Memorial Gym.”
This group of seniors has seen a lot of volleyball over the past four years. Most have seen significant playing time since their freshman season and have the accolades to prove it. Feicht is the active WAC leader in assists. Baker is the active WAC leader in kills and a two-time All-WAC selection. Chow is the conference’s second active leader in digs. The group has finished near the top of the WAC in almost every season, including last year’s second place finish.
“I think we accomplished a lot, like last year we finished the highest in the WAC that we’ve ever done and I know my class had a big part in that,” Sele said. “We’ve been through a lot together and I think we’ve just come together and played well.”
This senior class came into this season with high expectations. While the Vandals are sitting in third place in the conference standings right now, it’s not as high as they would have liked. Feicht said the biggest disappointments of this year were losing to teams they should have beaten.
While it hasn’t been the storybook senior year, it’s still been solid and the Vandals will go into the WAC Tournament with a high seed. Idaho coach Debbie Buchanan said she’s seen the way this group of seniors have grown and believes this squad can take the WAC crown.
“We’ve been able to maintain a very high athletic program where we’ve finished at the top. While this season hasn’t gone the way we wanted, we have the potential to finish the way we want it,” Buchanan said. “For this group of kids, they can definitely win that tournament. ”
The players agree that Saturday will be an emotional night, but they’re trying not to think about it.
“I haven’t been thinking a lot about my career ending. I’ve been more looking forward to what is to come, rather than focusing on the negative side of things,” Sele said.
Emotions will be high the rest of the way, but there are still matches to be played and Feicht said the team is still keeping their eyes on the prize of a WAC crown.
“We really just take it one match at a time,” Feicht said. “That’s the only way you really can get through it all or get through a whole season. You just have to focus on one thing at a time and try to savor each moment.”
At the end of the year Buchanan will have the task the putting together next year’s team without Baker and the five seniors. She said she’s excited about who she’ll have coming back next year, but said this year’s senior experience will be missed.
“I think that’s probably going to be the biggest lag, but I think that we have some good kids and some athletic kids and kids that are going to work hard and keep this program going,” Buchanan said.
Emotions aside, Saturday’s match will be about getting a win and building momentum for the WAC Tournament, which starts Nov. 18.
“I want nothing more than to just win,” Church said. “We’re all really competitive people in general and we hate losing. I know I really want that win for sure.”
Kevin Bingaman can be reached at [email protected]