Vandal volleyball opened the year with a bumpy start to the 2019 season.
Idaho started its season 1-2 after this weekend’s Idaho Volleyball Classic.
Idaho hosted teams from California, Chicago, and Washington in the two-day tournament held in Memorial Gym. This young Vandal team, consisting of only two seniors, played their first three games together trying to build chemistry early in the season.
The first match, against California Baptist University went to four games with Idaho dropping the first set and winning three sets in a row to win the match.
Idaho Head Coach Debbie Buchanan has coached for 20 years now and said that she loves this team and is having fun coaching them.
Buchanan said that this was a great first outing for the Vandals.
“We have a lot of new players out there and we started the match a little jittery,” Buchanan said in a pressconference. “I felt like we were able to make some strategic changes to our offense throughout the match and we won it in the end.
Head coach Debbie Buchanan yells at her team after a play against California Baptist University Friday in Memorial Gym. Leslie Kiebert | Argonaut
Buchanan says seeing the team play together for the first time helps visualize things that need improvement.
“Our communication needs to get better for sure,” Buchanan said. “Our trust needs to improve all around as well.”
During day two of the Idaho Volleyball Classic, the Vandals faced off against California State Fullerton.
The Vandals had two hard fought first sets falling short to CSF 27-25.
Idaho came back in the third set to win 25-18 but could not keep the momentum going into the fourth set, losing the match 3-1 to CSF.
“I was a little disappointed because it seemed like we didn’t have much energy and played pretty flat,” Buchanan said.
The second game of the day, against the University of Illinois Chicago went to max sets in a strong competitive match.
UIC took the first two sets but Idaho bounced back in the third to keep itself in the competition.
The fourth set ended in a point for point battle with Idaho finally winning the set at 32-30.
Redshirt sophomore setter Donnee Janzen sets the ball Friday against California Baptist University in Memorial Gym. Leslie Kiebert | Argonaut
The final set started in Idaho’s favor with a 5-1 lead to start but that momentum slowed down and UIC ended up winning the match 3-2.
Buchanan said that the team was very tired having multiple matches in a day. Idaho’s preseason consists of 12 matches in four weekends. The team is going to focus on staying healthy for that busy schedule.
“I am proud of how the team fought through the losses,” Buchanan said. “They have been working super hard, their energy is high, their effort is really good. Are we going to have bumps along the way? Absolutely but they are ready to bring it.”
The Vandals play on the road at the University of Portland next weekend September 6th and 7th.
Connor Swersey can be reached at [email protected]