The Vandals kicked off Big Sky Conference play with a 3-1 win (25-23, 25-21, 23-25, 25-19 on the road against Montana State Thursday.
This is Idaho’s 18th straight win over the Bobcats and Buchanan’s 250th win as Idaho head coach.
Sophomore outside hitter Sarah Sharp had a career-high 20 kills.
Freshman setter Megan Ramseyer led Idaho with a career-high 44 assists. She notched 41 assists Sept. 16 against Tennessee Tech.
Montana State (2-8) led 16-13 in set one before a timeout. The Vandals took back the lead and won 25-23 after a service error from the Bobcats.
Idaho (1-0) started set two with a 4-0 run and an ace by senior defensive specialist Terra Varney.
Junior outside hitter Becca Mau wrapped up set two for Idaho with a kill.
At the end of set three, Idaho was five points away from sweeping Montana State with a 20-16 lead.
The Bobcats took a 9-3 run and won set three 23-25 after an attack error by Sharp.
Both teams fought back and forth in the opening stages of set four, tying 11 times.
Sophomore setter Haylee Mathis gave Idaho a 13-11 advantage after a kill.
The last Idaho kill came from Mau, who set the match point for Idaho. Mau made 13 kills overall.
An attack error by Montana State freshman Caitlin Lonergan gave Idaho the 25-21 set win.
Idaho ended the final set with a match-best .417 hitting percentage.
The Vandals play Montana 1 p.m. Saturday in Missoula.
Luis Torres can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @TheLTFiles