College volleyball: Straw powers UI in opener

Kaela Straw (Freeman High) had a team-high 18 kills and Katelyn Peterson chipped in with 15 kills and 21 digs to lead the Idaho Vandals to a 25-23, 17-25, 27-25, 20-25, 15-9 victory over North Dakota on Thursday at the Big Sky Conference volleyball tournament in Flagstaff, Arizona.

The Vandals (14-15) advance to play Idaho State (22-9) today at 3:30 p.m. in the semifinals.

Chelsea Moser tallied a match-high 22 kills for North Dakota.

Idaho State 3, Eastern Washington 2: Tressa Lyman had 21 kills and 11 digs and Chloe Hirst added 11 kills as the Bengals took a 26-28, 17-25, 25-12, 25-13, 15-9 win over the Eagles (14-13).

Ana Jakovlievic paced EWU with 12 kills and 12 digs, while Allie Schumacher had 11 kills.

Eastern Washington’s season ended.

Missouri State-West Plains 3, North Idaho 2: Manoa Pulotu had 24 kills and 13 digs and Gabby Edmondson tallied 14 kills and 16 digs to propel the Grizzlies (26-9) to a win over the Cardinals (20-14) at the NJCAA Division I tournament in Casper, Wyoming.

Brenna Meehan totaled 22 kills and nine digs for North Idaho, while Penny Gwynn added 13 kills and 12 digs.

The Cardinals play Yavapai (Arizona) today at 9 a.m. in the consolation bracket.

Linn-Benton 3, CC Spokane 1: Chase Bohman piled up 20 kills and 19 digs to carry the Roadrunners (41-6) to a 24-26, 25-13, 25-14, 25-9 win over the Sasquatch (22-27) in the first match of the NWAC tournament in Tacoma.

Jessica Schmautz led the Sasquatch with 12 kills.