The Idaho Vandals traveled to Ogden, Utah for a weekend matinee matchup with the Weber State Wildcats. The Vandals are 1-11 overall coming in off a 3-1 loss at home to Portland State. Weber State, in 4-8 coming in off a sweep of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff.
The match began with Idaho jumping out to a 2-0 advantage in the first set. The Wildcats would then score the next six and eventually continue to grow their lead, not giving the Vandals any chance at coming back. They landed some forceful spikes UI could not handle and went on a 6-1 run at the end to win the opening set 25-12.
The second set started with each team obtaining a point but that would be the closest it would come. Weber State continued to roll and even though the Vandals made some remarkable saves to keep some rallies going, they also cost themselves with serving errors they could not land in play. UI got a couple points late but was not nearly enough as the Wildcats won set two 25-16.
The third set of the match had the most drama. From the start it went back and forth, had multiple lead changes and at one point it was even tied at 14. There were challenges for points by both teams but unfortunately both sides lost their challenge, and the plays stood. However, Weber State was able to win a challenge of a net fault by UI, gifting them a point towards the end. Wildcat senior Baylee Bodily delivered the final kill and Weber State won the third set 25-16, meaning they took the match over UI in a clean sweep.
Junior Ashley Gneiting for Weber State lead the match in kills with 14, meanwhile Sophomore Zuzanna Wieczorek had the most for UI with eight. The two teams will meet again in Moscow on October 17. UI falls to 1-12 on the year and 0-2 in Big Sky conference play. They will welcome the Eastern Washington Eagles (4-8 (0-2)) to the Memorial Gym for homecoming. The game tips off Friday October 4, at 6 p.m. It can be streamed on ESPN+.
Jackson Hamelund can be contacted at [email protected]