Official Athletic Site of the Washington State University Cougars

WSU Sweeps Past Idaho In Moscow

September 22, 1998

MOSCOW, Idaho -- Washington State defeated border rivals Idaho 16-14, 15-13, 15-13, in a non-conference match Tuesday night at Memorial Gym in Moscow, Idaho.

Washington State, with back-to-back wins, is now 4-4 while Idaho, with back-to-back losses is now 7-5.

Outstanding blocking by the Cougars was the key to the win with 15 WSU blocks to Idaho's seven. Cougar freshman Alicia Erickson (6-4, Henderson, Nev.) had a match-high and career-best nine blocks in addition to her seven kills and .462 hitting percentage. WSU senior Wendy Rouse (Reno, Nev.) chipped in the Cougar-high 12 kills and had four blocks. Kim Kleven (senior, Spokane, Wash.) led WSU with 10 digs.

Idaho's Jessica Moore led all players with 15 kills while Anna Reznicek added 11 and Beth Craig had 10 for the Vandal cause. Craig had a match-high 13 digs and led Idaho with three blocks.

In the first two games, WSU overcame a 13-6 and a 12-8 deficit for wins. In game one, WSU dodged two huge runs by the Vandals to pull out a 16-14 win. Erickson came up with two kills and a block to keep the Cougs in the game and then teamed with Rouse for the game-winning block. Erickson's solo block in the second game awarded the Cougars a 15-13 win and a two-game lead going into the break.

Joy Sperry (junior, Wallace, Id.) subbed into the Cougar lineup in place of starter Missy Blackshire (freshman, Spokane, Wash.) and added firepower offensively and strong blocking defensively to give WSU added life. Sperry had four blocks and seven kills for match.

The Cougars ran a 9-3 lead in the third game but Moore's three kills sparked Idaho and the Vandals pulled even at 10 and Cougar blocking and hitting errors knotted the score again at 13. The 6-4 Erickson, teamed with the 6-3 Rouse and Colleen Smith's 6-6 imposing figure at the net, proved to be the momentum-killer and stopped Idaho's offense for the 15-13 game win.

"We played with lots of guts tonight," WSU coach Cindy Fredrick said after the win. "We had to fight and we did it."

Washington State travels across the state to take on Washington (1-5, 0-2) Friday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. in Hec Edmundson Pavilion.

Washington State (4-4, 1-1) d. Idaho (7-5) 3-0
Game Scores: 16-14, 15-13, 15-13
STATISTICS:
KILLS: WSU - Rouse 12; UI - Moore 15
ASSISTS: WSU - Spink 34; UI - Neville 32
DIGS: WSU - Kleven 10; UI - Craig 13
BLOCKS: WSU - Erickson 9; UI - Craig 3
SERVICE ACES: WSU - Spink, Smith, Kleven 1 each; UI - Lynch 1
Attendance: 976