The Vandals start off Big Sky Conference play Thursday in Memorial Gym against Portland State.
After playing a long 12 matches in four weeks for its preseason, Idaho has a chance to prove itself to other non-conference members in its first ranked match.
Non-conference recap:
The young Vandal team has had a rough season so far — winning four of 12 matches against tough competition.
Idaho’s inexperienced team faced veteraned teams with more experience, while the Vandals continued to build chemistry throughout the early parts of the season.
Despite the rough start for the Idaho, conference play is a new opportunity for these Vandals to show everyone what potential they hold.
New prospects:
Redshirt sophomore setter Donnee Janzen sets freshman middle Kyra Palmbush against California Baptist University in Memorial Gym.
With the Vandals having a relatively young team, a few new players have stood out and caught eyes.
Freshman middle blocker Kyra Palmbush has been taking control of the net, holding a .379 attack percentage, adding 49 blocks.
Palmbush is a force to be reckoned with at the net. Tied with sophomore middle blocker Nikki Ball, Palmbush leads the team in kills with 89 this season, racking up 123 points up so far.
Also new to Idaho, freshman setter Hailey Pelton has locked in her court vision and is starting to exploit team weak areas with her offense. Even though Pelton has played less games than redshirt sophomore setter Donnée Janzen, Pelton still has a respectable 181 assists and 14 kills at the net.
Big Sky competition:
The Big Sky has some tough competition this 2019 season, with the Weber State Wildcats (9-2) leading the pack. While non-conference season means very little in terms of how conference play will go, the Wildcats have the forward momentum which means a lot in a mental game like volleyball.
Idaho sits in the bottom third of Big Sky teams with its current record Portland State sits ahead with the same wins but one less loss.
Portland State University:
The Vikings have a shallow bench with only 12 players total, making Portland State another young team with only two seniors on the roster.
The Vikings rely on an extremely pin-heavy offense, hitting outside nearly every play. Idaho needs to watch out for this and take control of the net through a strong block game early.
When/where:
The Vandals play their first Big Sky Conference match against the Portland State Vikings 6 p.m. Thursday in Memorial Gym.
Connor Swersey can be reached at [email protected]