A rough start didn’t stop the Idaho volleyball team. The team survived its second straight five-set match with another victory, defeating Sacramento State 3-2 (14-25, 26-24, 25-20, 27-29, 15-9) Saturday at the Memorial Gym.
Idaho coach Debbie Buchanan said the win was a reminder that the team has unfinished business.
“We had great numbers tonight,” Buchanan said. “As we got to the middle of game one, we started passing the ball and doing some things. The challenge is can you carry that over into the next set and we did that.”
Idaho senior outside hitter Katelyn Peterson, who had 18 kills, was among four Vandal players to earn 10 or more kills.
Peterson said the team’s character, resiliency and fighting for each point helped the team win in five sets.
“Five sets are always pretty tough,” Peterson said. “We took a team in five on Thursday (Portland State) … that definitely gave us some confidence going into that fifth game that we can take care of business and get it done.”
After a kill by Sacramento State’s Kennedy Kurtz in the second set, the Hornets were at set point with a 24-16 lead. The next play was a kill by Peterson, which started a 10-0 run for Idaho, and earned the Vandals a set win.
Idaho ended the night with a .325 attack percentage, including a match-high .643 attack percentage without committing an error in set five.
“We kept learning, we kept pushing and our blocking got us going in the end of that second game,” Buchanan said. “(It) gave us some momentum and that was huge for us to pull that out.”
Idaho redshirt freshman outside hitter Sarah Sharp didn’t play until the third set, but she ended the night with a career-high 15 kills and a .560 attack percentage.
Sharp said the team came out too tense and tight in the beginning but once the players were relaxed, their performance improved.
“We had each other’s back the whole time,” Sharp said. “Not once did we give up on each other or hang our heads. Even when things were tough, we were always there coming to the middle and being there for each other.”
Buchanan said the addition of Sharp to the match changed the complexity of Idaho’s offense.
“Offensively, we made some adjustments and the girls adjusted to it really well,” Buchanan said. “We took Becca (Mau) out. Becca was struggling and moved Katelyn to that (hitting) spot and moved Sarah in the opposite and we were able to create more offense. That’s part being a team. You got to be able to have moving parts and call people from the bench.”
With two straight five-set wins, the Vandals are back at .500 with a 3-3 Big Sky Conference record and are 6-12 overall.
The Vandals will play their next four games on the road, starting with the Montana Grizzlies 6 p.m. Thursday at the West Auxiliary Gym in Missoula, Montana. Idaho swept Montana last season in Missoula.
Peterson said she and her teammates are hungry for more wins as the season moves forward.
“It’s anyone’s game on any given night and we’re gonna have to come out a lot harder on the road,” Peterson said. “We love playing at home, but on the road, we can’t come out on a slow start.”
Luis Torres can be reached at [email protected]