In front of a packed Memorial Gym, the Idaho volleyball team wasn’t going to let itself lose two straight matches in as many nights.
Nathan Romans | Argonaut
Junior setter Meredith Coba watches her set to senior middle blocker Stephanie Hagins during the Idaho’s 3-1 win over Boise State University Friday during the Idaho Nike Invitational at Memorial Gym.
In four close, competitive sets, the Vandals beat the Boise State Broncos 25-23, 25-20, 21-25 and 26-24 Friday night.
Senior middle blocker Alyssa Schultz led the Vandals with a .684 hitting percentage. She finished with 13 kills on 19 attempts with zero errors.
Fellow senior Jessica Hastriter finished with a team-high 14 kills, including two to end the first set. Idaho came back from an 18-21 deficit to prevail 25-23 in the set.
The atmosphere was raucous, as 1,391 fans were in attendance. It’s the eighth largest crowd in Memorial Gym history for a volleyball match.
Ali Forde returned for the Vandals after playing just one set Thursday night. She finished with nine kills on the evening.
Friday marked another impressive outing for junior setter Meredith Coba, as she tallied 48 assists against the Broncos.
Boise State stayed competitive thanks to sophomore middle blocker Maddy O’Donnell’s 22 kills on 29 attempts.
Jenna Ellis and Terra Varney led Idaho defensively in the back row, adding 17 and 14 digs respectively.
Conor Gleason can be reached at [email protected]