Press Release courtesy of Idaho Athletics.
Idaho (8-7 3-1) closes out a four-game road trip this week at Southern Utah (5-11, 0-4) and Northern Arizona (6-9, 2-2). The Vandals split last week’s action. Idaho opened with a loss at North Dakota before rebounding with a 3-0 win at Northern Colorado.
Idaho is 3-0 all-time against Southern Utah. The Vandals pulled out a 3-2 win at home last season over the Thunderbirds. Sarah Sharp totaled 22 kills for Idaho in the win. Idaho overcame 19 total blocks by SUU in the victory.
NAU holds a 15-10 series advantage over Idaho. The Vandals fell in five sets at home last season. Four Vandals recorded double-figure kills in the loss. Sharp and Kaela Straw helped lead the way with 12 and 11 kills, respectively.
Quotable: “We want to try and win, obviously, every opportunity that we have. As a coach, there are so many different ways you can talk to your team about things. Obviously, you want to get the ‘W’ every time. We are really trying to focus on one match at a time and playing Idaho volleyball.”
Fast Facts
• Ranked 19th in the NCAA with 2.80 blocks/set
• Ranked 64th in the NCAA with .239 hitting percentage
• Ranked 79th in the NCAA with 1.49 aces/set
• Idaho has seven sweeps on the season. The Vandals had six combined over the last two seasons.
• Idaho’s non-conference schedule ranked 30th in strength of schedule opponents having a .610 win percent
• 1-0 in 5-set matches this season. Played eight 5-set matches in 2016, the most since 2012 (10)
SWEEP: Idaho has its most 3-0 wins in a season (7) since nine in 2014
NET SUCCESS: Idaho is averaging 3.1 blocks per set in Big Sky play, totaling 37 blocks in 12 sets
TOP GUNS: Idaho is second the Big Sky in hitting percentage with a .239 mark (64th NCAA)
NETMINDERS: The Vandals are second in the conference (19th NCAA) with 2.80 blocks per set after finishing 2016 ranked 10th (1.85)
NO PRESSURE: The Vandals came within points of taking No. 9 Kansas to five sets. Idaho outhit the Jayhawks, .272-.252 percent and out-blocked them 10-6
BLOCK GAME: Idaho used 16.0 team blocks in its 3-0 win over SJSU. It was the most blocks by a Vandal team since 19.0 at Portland State in 2014
RISE UP: The Vandals totaled 32 total blocks at the Santa Clara/San Jose State Tournament, outblocking opponents 32-21
About Southern Utah: The Thunderbirds have struggled offensively this season. The team is hitting .164 on the season, allowing opposing teams to hit .209 percent. Macky Fifita leads SUU with 3.13 kills per set. MaCail Evans leads the T-Birds with a .335 attack percentage. Evans is ranked 16th in the NCAA with 86 total blocks. All-Time Series: Idaho, 3-0; Last Meeting: Idaho, W, 3-0
About Northern Arizona: The Lumberjacks have been consistent all season on defense, ranking third in the Big Sky with 16.20 digs per set. Brooke Donnelly leads NAU with 4.35 digs per set. Offensively, the team flows through Kaylie Jorgenson. She leads the Big Sky with 11.81 attacks per set (23rd NCAA). Her 3.48 kills per set are fourth in the conference. Heaven Harris ranks third in the Big Sky with a .378 attack percentage. All-Time Series: NAU, 15-10; Last Meeting: NAU, W, 3-2
FOLLOW: Links to the live stats can be found in the links above. All Big Sky matches are streamed online or on Pluto TV. Fans can also follow along live on Twitter, @IdahoVolleyball.
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