Fast-Starting Vandals Hope To Keep Pace
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
So far, so good for coach Carl Ferreira and the University of Idaho volleyball team. The Vandals have a 6-2 record as they head into their third straight weekend of tournament play.
“This is the best we’ve been playing since I’ve been here,” said the third-year coach. “It’s the best balance on offense and defense and we’re competing consistently.”
Last week in Atlanta, Idaho swept Winthrop (S.C.) University, Davidson, Charleston Southern and host Georgia State to extend its winning streak to five. The competition was well below Big West Conference Western Division caliber, but a win is a win and there’s nothing better for building confidence.
Idaho could have a great chance to add more padding to the win column when it plays Montana (6-1), Portland (0-6) and Central Florida (1-6) Friday and Saturday at the Montana Tournament. Gonzaga (2-6) travels to Moscow on Tuesday. Montana’s Grizzlies suffered their only loss against Idaho.
The Vandals have won four straight from Portland while UCF appears to have fallen off since making it into the second round of the NCAA Tournament two years ago.
Idaho’s Regan Butler, a 6-foot-1 junior middle blocker, is off to a hot start. She was named tournament MVP in Atlanta, slamming 40 kills in four matches. She leads the team in hitting at .424.
But the Vandals better enjoy things when things are good. In October, they play nationally ranked No. 1 Pacific, defending national champion No. 4 Long Beach State and No. 9 UC Santa Barbara. Cal Poly (6-1) and division rival Nevada (4-2) aren’t too shabby either. The Wolf Park will be at Gonzaga’s Spikeoff Spokane tournament this weekend.
Cougars start with best
Washington State opens the Pac-10 volleyball season Friday night at home against four-time national champion Stanford. It will play host to the perennial lower-division California Bears on Saturday.
Washington State coach Cindy Fredrick doesn’t mind thinking about a split.
“I don’t know if it’s better to start with Stanford, but you can say we get them over with,” joked Fredrick, whose young team is off to a commendable 5-2 start and will play at Stanford Nov. 18.
The Cougars have beaten Stanford once in 27 matches. They’ve been swept the last five times, including the NCAA Tournament regional final in 1996.
Bulldogs spike off in Spokane
Gonzaga (2-6) plays host at the 8th annual Spikeoff Spokane tourney this weekend at Martin Centre. Those invited are Ohio University (5-3), Nevada (4-2) and Alabama-Birmingham (5-3).
Zags coach Eva Windlin-Jansen reports she likes the direction her team is taking and hopefully, the wins will come. Freshmen Britt Whiting and setter Jessie Holly have started in every game this season and are making an impact. GU plays Ohio U. on Friday and UAB and Nevada on Saturday.
Eastern opens Big Sky tonight
The Eagles (7-2), whose early-season journeys have taken them to Washington D.C., Berkeley, Calif., and Fresno, Calif., return home tonight at 7 for the Big Sky Conference opener against Idaho State (6-3). EWU also will play host to Portland State (2-6) Saturday at 3.
The Eagles have won the last six matches against both teams, but naturally EWU coach Pam Parks is not taking these matches lightly.
“Everyone wants to beat us… . Idaho State has renewed spirits,” said Parks. “But if we play our game, we’ll be fine.”
Spikes and digs
Jessica Sanborn (Mead ‘97) of Michigan State (6-2) was named Big Ten player of the week this week and earned MVP honors at last weekend’s UMass Invitational in Amherst, Mass. Sanborn, a junior middle blocker, averaged 4.53 kills and 1.46 digs per game for the tournament …. Whitworth College (3-4) opens Northwest Conference play at home against Lewis & Clark (0-4) Friday and Willamette (4-0) Saturday. The Pirates already have surpassed last year’s win record (3) under first-year coach Steve Rupe.