Vandals begin national quest against high-powered Huskies
SEATTLE – The challenge facing the University of Idaho in tonight’s opening round of the NCAA volleyball tournament is daunting, but hardly beyond reason.
The Vandals, after finishing 17-12 overall during the regular season and 9-9 in the Big West Conference, were not expected to show up on the NCAA’s selection committee’s radar. But last Sunday, they were awarded an at-large berth in the 64-team event and shipped here to face Pacific-10 Conference champion Washington (24-2, 16-2) at the Bank of America Arena in HEC Edmundson Pavilion.
The match will start at 7 p.m., and the Huskies, who won their first 22 matches and spent seven weeks ranked as the No. 1 team in the nation, are prohibitive favorites – which is exactly what Idaho coach Debbie Buchanan expected.
“We’ve seen them play off and on throughout the year,” Buchanan said of the Huskies, who come into the tournament ranked No. 5. after losing two of their final four matches. “They’re a very good team with a very fast offense. And despite those two late losses (to No. 9 Stanford and No. 6 USC), they’re playing very well.
“It’s a tough matchup, but that’s what you have to expect in the NCAA Tournament.”
UW is coached by Jim McLaughlin, who has been named the Pac-10’s coach of the year two out of the past three seasons. The Huskies boast a pair of outstanding outside hitters in senior Sanja Tomasevic and freshman Christal Morrison, who are averaging 4.63 and 4.40 kills per game.
They have been exceptionally hard to beat at home, where they won eight of nine regular-season matches, including seven by 3-0 scores.
Idaho, which finished sixth in the BWC, lost six of its last nine regular-season matches and comes in riding a three-match losing streak. The Vandals are led by senior middle blocker Sarah Meek, who averaged 4.20 kills per game and hit a team-high .344 during the regular season.
Meek and junior outside hitter Kati Tikker (Lakeside-Nine Mile Falls), who is averaging 4.50 kills per game, were both selected to this year’s all-Big West Conference team.
Buchanan said when her girls heard about their at-large berth – the second in as many season for UI – last Sunday, “there was a lot of excitement and a lot of tears.
“We’ve been on them since the beginning of August,” Buchanan added. “They put in the time and did everything we asked, and this is their reward for all that hard work.”
The Vandals lost at Hawaii in the first round of last year’s NCAA tournament.
Quick sets
Kansas (18-11) and Santa Clara (18-8) meet at 5 in the first match of tonight’s Bank of America Arena doubleheader. … The two first-round winners will meet here again at 7 on Saturday, with the winner of that match advancing to the West Regional, which will also be held here. … Eighteen of the Huskies’ 24 regular-season wins were 3-0 sweeps. … Idaho was 1-3 against opponents ranked in the top 25, with its lone win coming against then-No. 13 UC Santa Barbara on Oct. 9 in Moscow.