Lack Of Confidence Costs Vandals

The University of Idaho got another lesson from the upper echelon of the Big West Conference when No. 18 University of the Pacific rolled to a three-game victory Thursday night at Stockton, Calif.

The Tigers, 10-3 overall and 3-0 in the Western Division, blistered the Vandals with a season-best .407 hitting percentage in the 15-8, 15-9, 15-9 victory.

Idaho, which fell to 12-2, 2-1, managed to hit just .167.

Nerves again struck the young Vandals as they lost for the second time this season to a nationally ranked team.

“They were very nervous at first,” Idaho coach Tom Hilbert said. “We never really settled down. Once we got over the nervousness, we were worried about the fact that we were losing. You have to have a certain confidence and a certain level of composure to play volleyball at a higher level. We need to learn that.”

In that regard, the Pacific match was a good learning experience for the Vandals, who are in their first season of competition in the highly competitive Big West Conference, which routinely has three or four teams ranked in the Top 25 nationally.

The Vandals had moments when they played their game.

“There were times when we played really well,” Hilbert said. “In the third game it was 7-7, then they ran off four straight points. You could just see our confidence go downhill.”

Sophomore Jessica Moore, last week’s Big West Player of the Week, led the Vandals with 12 kills off a .304 hitting percentage. Junior Jeri Hymas added another 11 kills and sophomore Beth Craig had nine.

The Vandals return to Moscow for a Saturday night match against Boise State. They square off against their long-time rival at 7:30 p.m. in Memorial Gym.

, DataTimes