Roundup: Vandals upset in WAC volleyball

Passing struggles led to missed opportunities and the University of Idaho volleyball team ended its season with a four-set loss to Boise State in the opening round of the Western Athletic Conference tournament on Monday in Las Vegas, Nev.

Idaho held late leads in the first two sets only to see Boise storm back with strings of five consecutive points in each set to steal victories in its 25-22, 26-24, 23-25, 25-21 win.

The Vandals led 22-20 in the opening set before falling and earned set point at 24-21 in set two before the Broncos were able to score the next five and leave UI down 0-2.

Idaho rallied for a victory in set three and held Boise State to just .021 hitting, but the Broncos regrouped to build a large lead in set four and held on for the win.

Idaho ends its season with a 15-15 overall record. Boise State improved its record to 8-21 and advances to face New Mexico State today.

College football

University of Idaho senior guard Mike Iupati is one of three finalists for the Outland Trophy, which honors college football’s most outstanding interior lineman.

Iupati, 6-foot-6, 325 pounds, is joined as a finalist by Oklahoma State’s Russell Okung and Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh.

Women’s basketball

Gonzaga University senior Vivian Frieson is the West Coast Conference player of the week.

Frieson led the Zags to a 3-0 week and averaged 13.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and three blocks a game.

Rodeo

In a minor preview of the National Finals Rodeo, three qualifiers captured the top three spots in bareback riding at the Columbia River Circuit finals in Redmond, Ore., last weekend.

Bobby Mote of Culver, Ore., won the finals with 258 points on three head to edge Ryan Gray of Cheney, the regular-season champion, in the average. Gray won the first round, Mote the next two. Jason Havens of Prineville, Ore., was third. The trio head to Las Vegas next month, ranking second, third and 15th, respectively, in the PRCA standings.

Eight-time champion tie-down roper Brad Goodrich edged Colbert cowboy Tyson Durfey for the CRC average, although Durfey, who has qualified for the NFR, won the year-end title. Durfey won two of three go-rounds.

A two-time champion in Canada, including last year, Durfey had a tough run at the Canadian finals two weeks ago. He won the sixth and final round for his only place and ended seventh for the season.