Volleyball Falls to Idaho in Season Opener

Volleyball Falls to Idaho in Season Opener

Idaho Volleyball Classic Preview

MOSCOW, Idaho – Sarah Sharp (15) and Kaela Straw (12) combined for 27 kills and Hayley Mathis produced 34 assists and five digs to lead Idaho to a 25-12, 25-16, 25-19 victory over Santa Clara volleyball on Friday during the season-opening Idaho Volleyball Classic.

UCLA transfer Alexa Dreyer had a team-best seven kills in her debut for the Broncos (0-1), who will play two more matches on Sunday.

The Vandals (1-0) posted a .411 hitting percentage, including a blistering .538 in the opening set. Straw registered a .524 attack percentage and Sharp hit .462.

Santa Clara had an early lead in all three sets, but was unable to sustain any momentum. The team hit .066 for the match and committed 23 errors.

Facing match point, the Broncos made a late run in the final set. They scored five points in a row fueled by a pair of kills from Michelle Gajdka, but the match ended on an attack error.

After trailing by five early in the second set, the Broncos rallied to even the game at 8-all just before a 6-0 Idaho run. Santa Clara narrowed the gap to 18-14, but Idaho answered with the next three, capped by a kill from Sharp.

Idaho's efficient opening set enabled it to pull away. Kennedy Warren, who had nine kills in the match, helped the Vandals pull away with five kills as part of a 6-1 stretch.

Liliana Light had a team-best 26 assists and Chloe Loreen a team-high six digs for the Broncos. Dreyer, Light, Kamrin Caoili and Michelle Shaffer made their SCU debuts in the season-opening tilt.

GAME DAY LINKS

Video (All Matches)
BigSkyConf.com
Live Stats (All Matches)
GoVandals.com


NEXT UP

The Broncos face New Mexico (10 a.m. Pacific) and Grand Canyon (3:30 p.m.) on Saturday.

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