Long Beach State Proves Too Challenging For Idaho

The University of Idaho volleyball team couldn’t keep pace with visiting Long Beach State, the nation’s fifth-ranked team, Thursday as the 49ers won 15-10, 15-2, 15-4 before 874 fans in Memorial Gym.

Sophomore middle blocker Cheryl Weaver led Long Beach State (14-2, 6-1 Big West) with 17 kills and five blocks to complement her sizzling .654 hitting percentage.

“I think she is the best athlete in Division I volleyball,” third-year Idaho coach Carl Ferreira said. “I don’t know if this gymnasium has seen this caliber of an athlete.”

Idaho (13-7, 4-3) made it interesting in the first game, trailing 10-8 after a series of big blocks by Regan Butler and Shalyne Lynch. The Vandals had 12 block assists in the first game.

But Weaver and 6-foot-6 sophomore Tayyiba Haneef (14 kills, five blocks) proved too tough for Idaho, which has now lost three in a row.

“We played way better tonight than the last three matches” Ferreira said. “This team really made excellent progress early in the match.”

Lynch and Heather Kniss led the Vandals with seven kills each.

UI held Gonzaga Prep grad Brandy Barratt of Long Beach to six kills and a .059 hitting percentage.

Women’s basketball

Washington State new women’s basketball coach Jenny Przekwas got her first indication of what the Pacific-10 Conference coaches think of the team she inherited.

In the preseason coaches’ poll released Thursday, the Cougars were picked to finish 10th. WSU was picked to place eighth last year and did just that, finishing 11-16 overall, 5-13 in the Pac-10.

UCLA, meanwhile, returns all five starters from last year’s NCAA Tournament team and was picked to win the conference. The Bruins won a share of their first conference title last year, tying with Oregon at 15-3.

UCLA earned eight first-place votes and Oregon earned two. Stanford was picked to finish third, followed by Arizona, Arizona State, Washington, USC, Oregon State, California and Washington State.

Men’s tennis

The University of Idaho doubles team of senior Darin Currall and junior Arnod Wakalkar advanced to the round of 16 at the Reebok ITA National Hardcourts at Austin, Texas. They defeated South Carolina’s Olof Akesson and Guillaume Legat 6-7 (8-6), 6-3, 6-1.

Women’s soccer

Idaho State shut out Eastern Washington 4-0 in a Big Sky Conference game in Pocatello, Idaho.

Eastern attempted only four shots to ISU’s 19 in falling to 0-3 in the conference and 1-11 overall. ISU is 6-7-1 and 1-1.

Golf

Mark Gardner (The Creek at Qualchan) shot an opening-round 75 and trails by eight strokes at the Western PGA Club Professional Championship at Santa Ana Golf Club in Bernalillo, N.M. The tournament runs through Sunday.