The move to the Big Sky Conference doesn’t seem to have hampered the Idaho volleyball team as it closes in on the final stretch of conference play.
Stephan Wiebe | Argonaut
Last year, the Vandals finished with 19 wins, the most since 1996, and a comfortable WAC semifinals finish losing to eventual tournament champion New Mexico State. The move back to the Big Sky started out rough though, as Idaho slogged through a tough nonconference schedule that included losses to No. 10 Florida, No. 23 Loyola Marymount, the Big 12’s Oklahoma and the SEC’s Missouri. Things were looking sketchy for a normally dominant Vandal volleyball squad that wasn’t used to finding itself with more losses than wins.
But Idaho coach Debbie Buchanan’s team put all the doubters to rest once conference play started as Idaho finds itself in the mix for the regular season title with three weeks left in the regular season.
The Vandals are back above .500 with a 11-10 overall record and a 7-2 record in conference play. Idaho has been dominant in the Big Sky with five of the six wins coming in three-set sweeps. In last weekend’s games against Montana and Montana State, Idaho looked bigger and more athletic than its opponents.
“We are a very athletic team,” Buchanan said following last Thursday’s win over Montana. “We recruit a little bit different then some of teams in the Big Sky. We look for long, athletic, physical players and that’s the type of program we want to be … it should be an advantage as long as we have ball control.”
However, the toughest test is yet to come as Idaho takes on in-state rival and current conference leader Idaho State Saturday in Memorial Gym. The Vandals still have six games following the match against the Bengals, but if the records continue how they have been, a win or loss over ISU might determine who hosts the conference tournament Nov. 20-22.
Hosting the Big Sky Tournament would be huge for the Vandals as they would have constant home crowd support. Hosting the tournament would also provide positive economic impact for the city of Moscow as all the teams and their fans would be staying on the Palouse for the tournament.
A lot of could change in the conference standing over the next three weeks, but for now, Idaho is right where it wants to be — in the mix for the regular season title with the most important matches yet to come.
Stephan Wiebe can be reached at [email protected]