After a frustrating loss in Pocatello Saturday to wrap up its four-game road trip, the Idaho volleyball team returned home and defeated the Montana State Bobcats in a 3-0 sweep (25-19, 25-18, 25-12) Thursday night at Memorial Gym.
The Vandals extended their winning streak over the Bobcats to 17 making Idaho 7-4 in the Big Sky Conference.
Idaho senior outside hitter Katelyn Peterson said the team progressively got better in each set, especially on the service line.
“We all came out and served real aggressive and got (Montana State) out of system,” Peterson said. “We could just focus on shutting out their outside and it was part of our game plan from the beginning, so I thought we executed that really well.”
Sophomore outside hitter Becca Mau earned nine kills.
Mau said this month has been challenging for the Vandals. But after Thursday’s victory, she said it’s a reminder of how the team continues to play tough.
“These past few matches, we’ve really been able to just get into rhythm, just taking care of business and do work,” Mau said.
Idaho head coach Debbie Buchanan said the offense played better in each set after a slow start.
“We didn’t have much urgency that I thought we should have in our first match back at home,” Buchanan said. “But we definitely finished strong and that’s what I asked them. In the locker room after two games, can we go out and make this our best set, and I thought that we did.”
Peterson led Idaho with 12 kills, including the match-winning point.
The Vandals trailed in the early stages of the first set, but rallied back and ended the set with a 6-0 run.
Idaho’s hitting percentage was above .400 in two sets, with its highest at .452 in the opening set. The Vandals ended the night with a .369.
Buchanan said the service line further helped Idaho’s offense to pull ahead of the Bobcats.
“We got (Montana State) out of system,” Buchanan said. “Our servers did a great job of getting them out of system.”
Idaho plays Montana at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Memorial Gym. The Vandals defeated the Grizzlies in five sets Oct. 15 in Missoula.
Mau said the win over Montana State boosts the team’s morale going into Saturday’s game.
“Montana is a little more difficult,” Mau said. “It’s good to get a three-set win under our belts going into Saturday and (we) just got to refocus now and just take care of our side of the court.”
Luis Torres can be reached at [email protected]