The Idaho volleyball team hoped to control its own destiny as it looked to secure first place in the Big Sky Conference North division against Northern Colorado Saturday in Greeley, Colorado.
Yet their efforts weren’t quite enough to pull off the win as the Bears defeated the Vandals 3-1 (22-25, 25-18, 23-25, 25-27) to wrap up the regular season.
“We knew being on the road was going to be a good challenge for us,” Idaho coach Debbie Buchanan said. “Today we played fairly steady. We have to be mentally locked in as we head into the tournament. I think there are some things we could do better. We are going to have to finish when we are in the driver’s seat.”
Both teams have a 10-6 conference record but Idaho (13-15 overall) has a +1.25 scoring differential against Northern Colorado, giving Idaho the North division title and the No. 2 seed at the Big Sky Tournament, which starts Thursday in Flagstaff, Arizona.
The Vandals lost to North Dakota in five sets Sept. 26 as well as being swept on the road Thursday.
Yet, Idaho will have a chance at redemption playing the seventh-seeded team again at 11 a.m. Thursday.
Buchanan, who has now finished conference play above .500 for 13 consecutive seasons, said winning the division is huge for the program.
“Our goal over the final weeks was to win our division and we were able to do so,” Buchanan said. “Bottom line is we are going to the tournament to compete.”
Idaho senior outside hitter Katelyn Peterson earned her 19th career double-double Saturday. Peterson had 13 digs and led Idaho with 16 kills.
Idaho sophomore outside hitter Kaela Straw finished with a .462 hitting percentage and sophomore outside hitter Sarah Sharp led the team with seven blocks and added 11 kills.
Senior setter Meredith Coba earned 27 assists and senior defensive specialist Jenna Ellis had 20 digs.
The Bears have won six straight matches. Only Big Sky regular season champion Northern Arizona – the No. 1 seed and tournament host – has a longer winning streak with 14.
North Dakota beat Eastern Washington in five sets Saturday. It was the Eagles’ fourth straight loss after leading the North division for most of the season.
Buchanan said Idaho’s loss to Northern Colorado showed Idaho must improve on closing their matches going into the Big Sky Tournament.
“We just have to finish games,” Buchanan said. “We were up in every single game. We had the potential to be right there. We just have to finish.”
Luis Torres can be reached at [email protected]