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MOSCOW, Idaho – It feels like the Volleyball season has flown by.
Idaho has provided plenty of optimism for a program on the cusp of making a major resurgence. Eclipsing the previous two seasons’ win totals, surging upwards of 40% in average attendance, and going toe-to-toe with the best teams in the conference are all signs that this volleyball team is laying the foundation of something big.
The next steps in that process take place away from home, however, as the Vandals are hitting the road for the next to last time in the regular season, trading the chill that has hit the Palouse for balmy northern California and the windy Oregon coast for the first conference matchups of the year with Sacramento State on Oct. 23 and Portland State on Oct. 25.
SCOUTING SAC STATE
Sacramento State had an up and down non-conference season to kick off the year, but picked up some key wins before starting Big Sky play, including over UC Riverside and Southern Utah in Cedar City and knocking off Fresno State of the Mountain West. The Hornets currently hold a 4-3 record in league matches and are coming off home wins vs. Montana and Montana State in The Nest.
Sac State is led by a two-headed monster at the frontcourt, with sophomore hitter Victoria Marthaler tallying 335 kills and averaging 4.79/set, ranking 11th and 9th in the country in these categories, respectively. Senior Ashlynn Archer, despite being listed as a middle blocker, is one of the top scoring threats in the Big Sky, having tallied 205 kills and hitting at 43.8% clip. Archer has also tallied 70.0 total blocks, nearly twice the total of second place on the roster.
The scheduled contests with Sac State this season will be the last time that the Vandals and Hornets meet annually in any varsity sport, as it was announced earlier this year that all of the institution’s olympic sports will depart the Big Sky and join the Big West Conference in 2026.
SCOUTING PORTLAND STATE
Portland State currently holds a 7-11 record, but has picked up 3 of their wins since league play started. Before then, however, the Vikings took down the Mountain West’s New Mexico followed by Cal State Fullerton, a foe that the Vandals saw twice in the non-con slate. Just before Big Sky matches commenced, PSU took in-state opponents Oregon and Oregon State to five sets each. The Vikings opened the critical part of the season with sweeps over Montana State and Idaho State and have since taken the series over the Bobcats.
Similar to Idaho, Portland State has a freshman hitter lighting up the stat sheet. Alivia Eikenberg has been the go-to on offense, earning double-digit kills in all seven of the Vikings’ league contests and tallying 251 total. Paige Stapaniuk holds leads the team in digs with 275 and an average of 3.77/set. PSU’s stats list has Naomi White has the team’s leading blocker with 83.0 total and 1.14/set, making her one of eight Big Sky athletes to average at least a full block per set.
TICKETS
Idaho Athletics has announced that all tickets for football, basketball, volleyball, and soccer are completely free to students for the 2025-26 year. To claim your tickets, click the link HERE.
FOLLOW THE VANDALS
To stay up to date with Vandal Volleyball, follow the team on Instagram(vandalvolleyball), X(IdahoVolleyball), and visit govandals.com