The Weber State University volleyball team snapped a two game losing streak on Oct. 25 at Northern Colorado, 3–2, after falling to the Bengals of Idaho State University, 3-2, earlier in the week.
The Wildcats started last week having dropped to fourth place in the Big Sky Conference.
“At times, we had wonderful effort,” head coach Jeremiah Larsen said. “They clearly wanted it more than us and they deserve it. They played great, and we didn’t consistently match their desire.”
WSU was able to jump to an early 12–6 lead in the first set, but the Bengals fought and stole the set back.
The second set went Weber State’s way with the Wildcats winning the set 25–19. Sophomore Rylin Roberts led the Wildcats on a 7–0 run.
Idaho State began the third set with a 12-3 run, and carried the momentum throughout the set, taking the set 25–19 and forcing a win or bust for the Wildcat team.
The fourth set was back and forth, but with the game tied at 23, sophomore Kennedy Redd was able to get back-to-back kills to win the set for the Wildcats and take the match to a do-or-die fifth set.
Idaho State came out firing in the fifth set starting with an 8–3 run. With the fifth set only going to 15, the Wildcats were in trouble and dropped the set 15–10.
“We haven’t figured out to play with passion and purpose for an extended period when another team is playing well,” Larsen said.
The ’Cats had to quickly put the tough loss behind them and take on a tough Northern Colorado team Oct. 25.
After going the distance in Tuesday night’s game on Oct. 30, the Wildcats were ready for another battle with the Bears. The ‘Cats took the match 3–2 and clinched a spot in the Big Sky Tournament.
Late in the fourth set, senior Andrea Hale’s kill put the Wildcats within two points. Sophomore Ashlyn Power and junior Hannah Hill-DeYoung followed Hale’s kill with a block setting up a match point for the ’Cats. Junior Aubrey Saunders-Adams finished the set off with an ace giving Weber State the set and momentum into the fifth set.
Weber State jumped out to a quick 9–2 lead and held on winning the set 15–11, taking the match and clinching a playoff spot.
“It’s never a dull moment when we play Northern Colorado,”Larsen said. “They are a resilient team and very good. I am proud of our effort tonight by our team. We could have crumbled many times tonight, but we kept moving forward. There is still a lot to learn from tonight, but overall we got better.”
Hale had 19 kills for the game with a .250 attack percentage and recorded 13 digs. Junior Megan Gneiting also recorded 16 kills and 10 digs.
With the win, the Wildcats are 9-5 in Big Sky play, putting them in fourth place in the conference.
The ’Cats square off with the second place Sacramento State University Hornets, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m., and the Portland State University Vikings, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m.
