A showdown between two Big Sky Conference teams from the North Division resulted in the Idaho volleyball team’s third straight five-set match win. The Vandals got the win 3-2 (25-22, 22-25, 25-27, 25-22, 15-13) Thursday night in Missoula, Montana.
After a career-best 15 kills and a .560 hitting percentage Saturday against Sacramento State, redshirt freshman outside hitter Sarah Sharp backed it up by surpassing her career mark with 18 kills Thursday night, including the match-winning kill.
Sophomore outside hitter Becca Mau, who earned no kills and sat out most of the game Saturday, also had 18 kills Thursday. It’s Mau’s first 10-plus kill game since Sept. 26 against North Dakota.
Idaho narrowly defeated Montana in hitting percentage and committed less errors despite earning fewer kills and attack attempts.
After Idaho won the opening set, the Grizzlies won the next two and was poised to win the match.
But back-to-back kills by Mau and a block by Mau and freshman middle blocker Laine Waters in the fourth set started a 4-0 run for the Vandals, putting them up 14-12. The run helped Idaho regain its momentum over the Grizzlies and kept its hopes alive by winning the set.
Idaho’s momentum carried into the fifth set, which was highlighted by three kills by Mau.
With their third straight win, the Vandals are now 4-3 in the Big Sky and 7-12 overall.
Idaho continues its week at the Treasure State Saturday as it plays Montana State at 6 p.m. in Bozeman, Montana. The Vandals won their last match against the Bobcats 3-0 Oct. 30.
Luis Torres can be reached at [email protected]