Reno, Nev. - The University of Nevada (5-9, 1-4 WAC) volleyball team lost a Western Athletic Conference match in five sets to Idaho (9-6, 2-2 WAC) at the Virginia Street Gym tonight. The Wolf Pack lost by scores of 19-25, 26-24, 25-23, 20-25 and 10-15 in the deciding fifth set. The loss was the fifth in a row for the Pack and fourth consecutive conference loss leaving the squad 5-9 overall and 1-4 in the WAC. The Vandals improved to 9-6 on the season and evened their WAC record at 2-2.
The Vandals won set four 25-20 to force a deciding fifth set and jumped to a 6-1 lead in the final set on the way to the 15-10 victory and 3-2 match win. UI hit .278 in the final set and held the Pack offense to a negative .043 attack percentage which was their worst of the night.
There were eight ties and four lead changes in set one before the Vandals scored a 25-19 victory. UI closed out the set with an 8-2 run to break a 17-17 tie. The Vandals hit .250 and Nevada just .075 in the first set.
Set two was also very tight going back and forth with 14 ties and seven lead changes but the Pack held on for the 26-24 victory to even the match at one set each. Nevada had set point at 24-23 but UI tied it up at 24-24. Junior Jorgan Staker’s kill put the Pack on top by one and Staker teamed with sophomore Lindsay Baldwin to block Sarah Conwell to give Nevada the victory. Offensively the Pack hit .206 and UI .200.
Following the break Nevada won set three 25-23 to move in front 2-1 in the match. Senior Allison Hernandez and Staker accounted for the final two kills off assists from freshman Tatiana Santiago to end the set. Nevada increased its attack percentage to .216 and held the Vandals to .129.
In set four UI jumped to a five-point lead at 10-5 but the Pack rallied with a 5-0 run to tie the score. The Vandals responded with their own 5-0 run and never looked back in winning 25-20 to even the match at 2-2. The Pack’s attack percentage slipped to .158 while UI hit .225. The Vandals kept rolling in set five winning 15-10 to take the match 3-2.
Nevada had four players in double figures kills led by sophomore Kylie Harrington’s 16 and she added 12 digs to post her team leading fifth double-double on the season. Baldwin and Staker finished with 13 each while Hernandez contributed 11. Staker’s 13 tied her previous career best. In her first start Santiago tied for match-high honors with 53 assists. Sophomore libero Nicole Link set a career-high with her match-high 23 digs on the night.
Haley Larson posted a match-high 22 kills and finished with 10 digs to record a double-double for the Vandals. Conwell added 17 kills to the 61 kill performance by UI. Setter Kelsey James also posted a double-double with her 53 assists and 10 digs. Sarah Loney (14), Kelsey Yonker (12) and Cassie Hamilton (10) also reached double digits in digs for the Vandals.
UI hit .212 in the match compared to .134 for Nevada. The Vandals won the battle at the net with 18.5 blocks compared to 12 for the Wolf Pack. Baldwin had eight and Staker seven for the Pack. Anna McKinney finished with a match-high 11 for UI, two solo and nine assisted.
Nevada hosts Boise State on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. The Broncos (5-9, 2-2 WAC) won 3-2 at Fresno State tonight.
Note: - The University of Nevada volleyball team will join forces with the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on Saturday when the Wolf Pack hosts Boise State at 7:00 p.m. in the Virginia Street Gym. All fans wearing pink will be admitted free to the match for a memorable “pink-out”. The night will promote the Nevada athletic departments Wolves for the Cure in support of breast cancer awareness on the eve of the 10th annual race. The Race for the Cure will take place on campus Sunday beginning with registration at 7:00 a.m.
