Homecoming weekend began at the University of Idaho with the Vandals taking on the 4-8 Eagles from Eastern Washington. Students and fans all decked out in UI gear, makeup and props started to fill the Memorial Gymnasium bringing energy and raising the volume levels. Excited to see their volleyball squad in only their second home game of the year.
Although the crowd was electric, the Vandals got off to a rough start. Surrendering the first six points of the match to the Eagles. Behind the intensity of the fans, they began to score, pulling to within 5 at one point when it was 13-8. Unfortunately, EW went on a 12-10 run to close out the opening set 25-18 despite UI grabbing a couple points in the late stages.
The Vandals jumped out to a 3-0 lead to begin the second set then the Eagles won the next four rallies. Then began a stretch where there were 2 ties and 2 lead changes before EW started to pull away. They would go on to take the second set 25-14. During the break afterwards the UI homecoming committee took the mic to get the crowd pumped back up and then announced the winner of “most Vandalized fan”, which got everyone very excited.
The beginning of the third set paralleled the first. Eagles jumped out to a 6-0 lead before UI was able to respond. Vandals struggled to keep up and EW continued to roll leading by 15 at the most when it was 22-7. Alyssa Radke and Bri Gunderson combined on the final block to end the game 25-10 and take the match in a 3-0 sweep. Gunderson led the Eagles in blocks with four.
Despite the loss, head coach Romana Redondo Kriskova was grateful for the large crowd that came out to the gym. “Thank you, guys, for coming and thanks for showing your support”, she said. The Vandals fell to 1-13 and 0-3 in conference play. They will travel to the state of Montana for their next two games. They’ll take on the Grizzlies Thursday at 6 p.m. and the Bobcats Saturday at 12 p.m. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+. They’ll then return for a four-game home stand beginning October 17.
Graduate Student Miya Carmichael lead the Vandals in assists and digs, with 10 assists and 6 digs against the Eagles. When asked about the next six games, she said “we’re looking forward to showing Vandal Volleyball and what we’ve got. We are not finished, we’re ready to keep fighting hard and we’ve got a lot more left in us”. UI has 13 games remaining here in 2024 which includes six at home.
