Vandal volleyball plays at Memorial Gym Thursday against Utah Valley, opening WAC play. The Vandals have a current win-loss record of 7-5.
Abi Stomberg | Argonaut
Sophomore setter Meredith Coba practices Monday for Thursday’s match against Utah Valley. The match starts at 7 p.m. in Memorial Gym.
The Vandals played Nevada last Friday winning all three sets. But against tougher opponents and undefeated teams like Washington State, it has been a few steps forward and a few steps back for the Vandals. Idaho started off with a lead in all three sets against the Cougars on Thursday before falling behind one set after another and losing control of the tempo.
“I felt like we played consistently until about 16-17 and then for whatever reason during that match we kind of let off. Which really isn’t our character if you look back at the matches we played earlier this season,” Idaho coach Debbie Buchanan said. “I felt like our team really fought through all the way to the end. We even fought when we were behind, so that’s something for us to learn from and make sure that as we get into all these matches that we get to play all the way to the end of the match.”
The Vandals finished the Cougar Invitational last weekend with a 1-1 record, but they come into WAC play with momentum after beating Nevada.
Idaho faces three WAC opponents in a five-day span facing Utah Valley on Thursday, Cal-State Bakersfield on Saturday and Grand Canyon on Monday.
Cal-State Bakersfield’s 2012 record might not look intimidating at 14-17. But the Roadrunners have started the season with a 9-6 record and present the biggest threat to Idaho this weekend. The Vandals will see all of these teams again in conference play so Buchanan expects a learning experience. Buchanan said all three matches should be home court battles within themselves regardless of each of the team’s reputations for being competitive.
“I think we’re going to face three good teams coming up. Bakersfield, they’re definitely a smaller team then some of the teams that we’ve faced but they’ve got some great arms, great volleyball players,” Buchanan said. “At this point, I think based on our youth and our consistency we’re going to have to make sure we take every match the same and try to make adjustments with these teams. But I really think all three of these teams will be tough.”
Sophomore setter Meredith Coba is coming off an outstanding offensive performance against Nevada with 30 assists and a team-high eight digs. The two middle blockers, Taylor Wilkinson and Alyssa Schultz combined for 18 kills against the Wolf Pack off of Coba’s 30 assists. Wilkinson’s hitting percentage of .667 against the Wolf Pack tied for her career best. The team as a whole hit 30 points better than usual averaging .294 against Nevada to counter a dismal .175 season low against the Cougars the day before.
The Vandals home stretch this weekend marks the first time the team has been home in 12 matches thus far this season. The three home conference matches will take place in a five-day stretch at 7 p.m. in the Memorial Gym with Utah Valley on Thursday followed by Bakersfield on Saturday. Grand Canyon will square off against the Vandals to close off the home stretch on Monday.
“I know they’re excited to be home the way we structured our tournament it was good timing,” Buchanan said.
Aaron Wolfe can be reached at [email protected]