Close One Caps UI’s Schedule

The University of Idaho women’s volleyball team started quickly Sunday then hung on for dear life to pick up a 15-4, 15-10, 12-15, 9-15, 15-9 Big West Conference victory in Reno that sent the Vandals to the conference tournament with the No. 1 seed for the Eastern Division.

Idaho completed the regular season with a 24-5 overall record and a 13-3 record in the Big West. The Vandals will face Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Saturday in the first round of the tournament.

Nevada, which dropped to 15-14, 7-9, will face 14th-ranked University of the Pacific in the first round.

Sunday, Idaho was rolling in the early part of the match. However, after the Vandals won the first two games, the Wolf Pack mounted a comeback that forced a fifth game in the best-of-five match.

Idaho, decimated by injuries in the last two weeks, was powered by junior Jeri Hymas, who had a career-high 26 kills.

“We’re a little beat up,” said Idaho coach Tom Hilbert said. “We have players stepping up and we need that. Jeri has stepped up big time for us these last two games and she’s going to have to continue that.”

Idaho has lost middle blocker Louisa Kawulok to a knee injury that will sideline her for the remainder of the season. Then, on Tuesday, Kawulok’s replacement, Jemena Yocom, suffered a sprained ankle that limited her action over the weekend.

Senior setter Lynne Hyland of Idaho moved within striking distance of Idaho’s all-time career assist mark. The Vancouver, British Columbia native dished out 64 assists and is now just 54 shy of Kelley Neely’s record of 4,744 (1982-85).

Cross country

Former Spokane high school distance-running stars Jessica Fry and Kristen Parrish are headed for the NCAA women’s cross country championships and Cheska Fairbanks of Gonzaga University may be able to tag along.

Fry, a Rogers High graduate who transfered to Stanford this fall from University of Alabama, finished fourth in last Saturday’s Region 8 championships in Fresno, Calif. Parrish, a University of Arizona freshman from Ferris, ran 10th.

Fry, a three-time All-American at Alabama, was timed in 17:09. Parrish finished in 17:22.

Stanford and Arizona finished 1-2 at regionals and earned automatic berths to the NCAA meet.

Fairbanks finished eighth, two spots ahead of Parrish, in 17:15, but she has to hope for an at-large berth.

A junior in cross-country eligibility, Fry earned All-America status by running 24th in last fall’s national meet.

Parrish was the state 1,600-meter champion for Ferris last spring.

The NCAA Championships will be run next Monday on University of Arizona’s home course in Tucson.

Hockey

Adrian Wong’s goal and three assists helped the Spokane Braves open up a three-goal lead on the way to a 6-5 victory over Osoyoos Sunday at Eagles Ice-A-Rena.

Soccer

Teams from the Community Colleges of Spokane now have their opponents for Thursday’s NWAACC tournament openers at Bothell, Wash. The men will play Green River and the women will meet Highline.

, DataTimes