Aug. 28, 2010

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PULLMAN, Wash. -- Border-rival Idaho (2-1) swept the Washington State Cougars volleyball team (2-1) Saturday night in the final match of the Nike Cougar Invitational tournament before 1,003 fans in Bohler Gym. The Vandals won with set scores of 25-22, 25-19, 25-21.

Allison Walker and Alicia Milo combined for 29 kills to lead Idaho offensively. Kelsey Taylor led the match with six blocks as the Vandals dominated at the net, out-blocking the Cougars 10 to three. Jennifer Feicht had 41 assists and Cassie Hamilton had 10 digs.

Washington State was led by the 18 kills of tournament MVP Meagan Ganzer. Sara Biondi had 34 assists and Oceana Bush provided 14 digs. The Cougars hit .214 for the night but Idaho hit .343. WSU held the lead only once in the match, at 3-2 in the first set.

"Idaho did a good job coming out and playing with emotion and a lot of intensity and knowing they could beat us right from the get-go," WSU Head Coach Andrew Palileo said. "I don't think we responded very well and Idaho did a good job of playing smart and really using our blocks and our hands throughout the whole match. They sustained that energy and we just did not match it."

In earlier matches Saturday, UC Irvine (2-1) defeated Idaho 25-10, 25-18, 25-23, and the Anteaters defeated Weber State (0-3) 25-14, 25-18, 25-23.

The Nike Cougar Invitational All-Tournament team, as voted by the coaches, is:

Alexndra Hauser, UC Irvine
Allison Walker, Idaho
Brittany Tillman, WSU
Kari Pestolesi, UC Irvine
Rachel Todorovich, WSU
Libero - Oceana Bush, WSU
MVP - Meagan Ganzer, WSU

Washington State will play in the University of San Francisco Powerade/Asics Challenge, Sept. 3 and 4, meeting Tulsa Friday, and UC Santa Barbara and host USF Saturday.