Vandals finally come home
The University of Idaho has played volleyball matches close to home (Pullman), fairly close to home (Cheney) and all over the West (California, Las Vegas, Hawaii). On Saturday, already 14 matches into their season, the Vandals will finally experience a home-court advantage.
Idaho entertains Fresno State at 1 p.m. at Memorial Gym. The match, originally scheduled for 7 p.m., was changed when ESPNU opted to broadcast the Idaho-Colorado State football game at 7:30. Fans with football tickets can attend the volleyball match for $1.
The Vandals opened with 11 non-conference matches away from home. As luck would have it, UI opened WAC play at San Jose State and at No. 4 Hawaii last week. Idaho lost at Eastern Washington on Wednesday. Only Stony Brook, which stages its home opener Oct. 11, has a later home debut.
Since joining the WAC in 2005, Idaho has opened conference play on the road every season, including at No. 7 Hawaii in 2008, at No. 15 Hawaii in 2007 and at No. 24 New Mexico State in 2006.
“We knew experience would be the issue with this team,” head coach Debbie Buchanan said. “At some point, I think they got a little frustrated, but they also see the other side that we’ve played with so many teams and been right there. There’s pros and cons. The cons are yes, we’ve been gone and the kids are probably feeling tired. But we have six (of the team’s nine) home matches in October.”
Idaho ranks second nationally in blocks per game (3.18), with Anna McKinney sixth and Debbie Pederson 15th, respectively, in statistics through Sunday.
“Our blocking and defense has been great, but to win games we have to pass the ball consistently and that’s one area we’re trying to get better at,” Buchanan said.
Cougars at home
Washington State is off to a 12-1 start, including a sweep of Oregon State last week that marked the first time the Cougars opened the Pac-10 season with a victory since 2003. WSU hadn’t opened with a Pac-10 road win since 1997.
WSU entertains No. 18 Arizona on Friday and Arizona State on Saturday. WSU and Arizona State are tied for 34th in the AVCA rankings.
The Cougars are compiling some impressive numbers. Senior Renee Bordelon (Lake City High, North Idaho College) is second in the Pac-10 and fourth nationally at 11.89 assists per game. The Cougars are No. 7 nationally in kills per game (14.67). Cassie Robbins ranks 20th nationally with 1.38 blocks per game.
Eagles at home
EWU continues its homestand with visits from Sacramento State on Friday, Gonzaga on Tuesday and Portland State on Oct. 9. The Eagles (9-5, 4-0 Big Sky) and Portland State (8-6, 3-1) battled for conference supremacy last season, with EWU winning the regular-season title and the Vikings claiming the tournament championship.
Northern Colorado (9-6, 3-0) joins Eastern as the only unbeatens in conference play.
Notes
Gonzaga is the last area team to begin conference play. The Bulldogs, who improved to 4-8 with a victory over Montana on Tuesday, meet Portland at 1 Saturday at the Martin Centre. … North Idaho College (19-3) earned its first No. 1 ranking in the NJCAA poll. The Cardinals knocked off former No. 1 College of Southern Idaho last Saturday, their second win over the Golden Eagles in two weeks. … Community Colleges of Spokane, tied for first place at 4-0 with Wenatchee Valley in the NWAACC East Division entering Wednesday’s match versus Yakima Valley, entertains Treasure Valley (2-1) Friday. The Sasquatch visit Wenatchee Valley on Wednesday. … The Idaho-Utah State match on Oct. 19 will be televised on ESPNU at 8 p.m. … With 34 kills last week, EWU senior Hayley Hills moved into third on the school’s career list with 1,219, passing Kellie Glaus. Hills is closing in on No. 2 Janelle Ruen (1,268).