On one side of the Memorial Gymnasium volleyball court Sunday, the 2018 Idaho volleyball team stood ready, dressed in full game-time garb.
The Alumni volleyball team cheers before starting a match during the alumni games in Memorial Gym Sunday afternoon.
The opponent? Its mentors — past greats of the current 13-season conference tournament appearance Idaho volleyball program.
The players — graduates between 2007 and last season — donned black Nike shirts, with a screen-printed “Vandals Alumni” logo on the front. On their backs were their names and final seasons as volleyball players at Idaho.
Winning in the annual alumni game was no cinch. Although the older side — dubbed “hashtag-mom-team” by Haley Larsen — took more of a light-hearted approach, the current Idaho team got a chance to test their roster against a creditable opponent.
“I think it’s really a good lesson not to underestimate a team,” said 2009 graduate Larsen, a former outside hitter and all-time kills leader at Idaho. “But it’s fun, we can kind of joke around and get in their heads and have that be a good experience for them.”
Now nine years removed from Idaho, Larsen’s spiking abilities have by no means waned. She, along with some of Idaho’s more recent graduates, led the charge against a senior-laden Vandals roster.
However, a first-match drubbing ensued. An “oh my god, stop,” was shouted by one alumnus after some unyielding serves and kills from Idaho’s current outside-hitting prodigy, Sarah Sharp. It ended 25-14. The current roster just had a bit more cohesiveness than the unit which was assembled earlier that morning.
“Last year, I played a lot before the alumni game,” Larsen said. “This year, I haven’t played since last year’s game … That’s the same for some of the others.”
But after that first set, a “now we’re warmed up” echoed through the gym.
It rang true.
Although the alumni lost the second match, 25-23, it was about as contested as could be. Torrin Crawford, a senior middle blocker on last season’s team, provided the obstruction at the net, and Larsen put together a lot of the attack off of sets provided by her fellow ‘09 grad, Kelsey James.
The tight-knit offense of the current team, along with their constant and ongoing practices, put them ahead. Sharp and incoming senior Kaela Straw proved their prowess on offense while Idaho got a steady day of practice and spectators an advanced look at this year’s lineup.
“It keeps us on our toes, and they’re really tricky with their play so it’s fun,” Sharp said. “We had some shining moments today and we got to mix every rotation around and try new things.”
Plus, “there’s a lot of smack-talk,” Sharp said. The third and final set featured it, and it was just as competitive as the last. The Vandals earned the sweep with a 25-20 win, but again, it did not come easy.
There were some unforced errors by the alumni, but also a glimpse of their muscle-memory talents returning to the competitive sphere.
“We just kind of got our groove back,” Larsen said. “It’s so fun to come back with those girls and be as one unit in the locker room, going to the Kibbie Dome, and being here with our kids.”
Plays worthy of a highlight reel ran in abundance, and pinpoint sets and hammer-down kills seemed endless — it was basically a college-match exhibition.
Sharp said she appreciated the chance to rekindle the bond with her former teammates and some of that she knew of through their prominence. On the other side, Larsen said she welcomed the chance to see this “dynamic” young team and play against their “clean, fast offense.”
She also had some acclaim to offer toward Idaho’s captain.
“Sarah Sharp is 10 times the athlete I was when I played,” said Larsen, Idaho’s No. 1 all-time spiker. “I love watching her play … we were all in awe of how talented she is.”
And Sharp, who was recently invited to compete for a position on Team USA, said she will definitely be back. Of course, the alumni team does have an exceptional history of recruiting.
Colton Clark can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @coltonclark95