IDAHO VOLLEYBALL: Healthy Coba back at wheel for Vandals

MOSCOW - An instant is all it took for a once-promising season to turn sour on the Idaho Vandals.

Meredith Coba was at 42 assists and 10 digs - a wholesome double-double - and her team was in a 7-7 fifth-set deadlock against North Dakota when the junior saw her ACL go out. Her MCL and lateral meniscus went with it.

Then the Vandals collapsed with their star setter. They dropped the fifth set against UND. They lost at home in a regular-season finale against Northern Colorado. And they weren't even close at the Big Sky tournament in Pocatello, where the fifth-seeded Northern Arizona Lumberjacks routed the fourth-seeded Vandals in three sets.

"I think anytime you have an injury, it's hard, because even though you're here and you're watching everything, you're really not a part of it, but you are kind of," said coach Debbie Buchanan, who admitting to having seen just one other ACL tear in 16 years with the program. "I went through that same thing and it's probably one of the toughest things you can go through as an athlete."

Buchanan's hand was forced and the coach had to pull Sami Parris' redshirt 27 matches into the season.

But 2014 and all of the misfortune that came with it, are now on the backburner. That's where the Vandals hope to keep it - especially with a trip to the Hawaiian Islands on the horizon.

With a grip of returners back - a healthy Coba one of them - the Vandals open the new season Friday in Honolulu, where they meet hosts Hawaii for a 10 p.m. PDT start at the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational.

After a reunion with the No. 18 Wahine, an old Western Athletic Conference foe, the Vandals take on Oregon State on Saturday, then Wichita State on Sunday. Both the Beavers and Shockers are receiving Top 25 votes.

"That's kind of been common in our program, we definitely want to get challenged in the preseason," Buchanan said. " The greatest thing about going to Hawaii is not only is it going to be competitive, but it's a great atmosphere. You play in front of 8,000 fans, they're cheering, it's great volleyball. They cheer for volleyball. It's not where you're heckled a ton."

Coba returns as the distributor for an offense that ranked second in the Big Sky last season with a hitting percentage of .235. Her season cut short by seven sets, Coba still led the league with 11.07 assists per set when all was said and done.

"Just being with her and watching her journey and coming back stronger than she was before, mentally and physically, we're all super excited," senior Katelyn Peterson said.

Buchanan isn't too concerned about the team size after losing some trees from her front line. One of those, Alyssa Schultz (6-3), recorded the league's second-best hitting percentage. The Vandals also lose Stephanie Hagins (6-4) to graduation and Ali Forde (6-2), who chose to pledge her time to the Idaho women's basketball program.

So, of those who appeared in the conference tournament last season, Tineke Bierma, a fifth-year senior, is the only one who stands above 6 feet. But Sarah Sharp (6-4) comes off a redshirt year, and Torrin Crawford (6-2) returns to help the Vandals make up for what was lost.

"Offensively, we've been getting better and we're big," Buchanan said, "so we can run a pretty fast offense and be able to close and give us some advantages."

In line with much of the college football world, speeding things up - both on offense and defense - has been a priority of Buchanan's.

"We do a lot of serving challenges, so we do a timed one so they have to get 21 points in three minutes," Buchanan said. "If they don't, they run.

"You have to have that pressure, so when you go in a game, you know what it feels like."

Idaho was picked to finish fifth in the Big Sky by conference coaches, receiving 84 points. In 2014, Idaho notched a 11-5 mark in the Big Sky.

Though the Vandals regularly etch out top-three regular-season finishes, the conference tournament has been Buchanan's Achilles' heel. Twice Idaho has been to the NCAA tournament under the ex-USC Trojan, but never as a result of a conference tournament championship.

"I think the biggest thing is we have to take one match at a time we're not looking ahead," Buchanan said. "It's this weekend. It's not about going to the beach, it's about going to play three quality opponents and to really see where our team's going to be at."

IDAHO ROSTER

Tinke Bierma, OH, sr.; Terra Varney, DS, jr.; Meredith Coba, S, sr.; Sami Parris, S, so.; Laine Waters, MB, fr.; Torrin Crawford, MB, so.; Kaela Straw, OH; Rfr.; Paige Rupiper, OH, fr.; Casey Kline, OH, Rfr.; Jenna Ellis, DS, sr.; DeVonne Ryter, MH/OH, fr.; Michele Brown, S, jr.; Katelyn Peterson, OH, sr.; Becca Mau, OH, so.; Natalie Jensen, S, fr.; Sarah Sharp, OH, Rfr.

IDAHO SCHEDULE

All times Pacific

Aug. 29 - vs. Hawaii, at 10 p.m., in Chevron Rainbow Wahine (Hawaii) Invitational. 29 - vs. Oregon State, at 7:30 p.m., in Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational. 30 - vs. Wichita State, at 5:30 p.m., in Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational.

Sept. 4 - vs. Seattle U, at 7 p.m., at Idaho Volleyball Classic. 5 - vs. UC Irvine, at 12:30 p.m., and vs. Washington State, at 7 p.m., in Idaho Volleyball Classic. 11 - vs. Cal Poly, at 7 p.m., in University of Portland (Ore.) Tournament. 12 - vs. Portland, at 10 a.m., and vs. St. Francis, at 4 p.m., in University of Portland Tournament. 18 - vs. Western Carolina, at 10:30 a.m., and vs. Towson, at 3 p.m., in Golden Eagle Invitational (Tenn.) presented by Hampton Inn. 19 - vs. Tennessee Tech, at 6:30 a.m., in Golden Eagle Invitational presented by Hampton Inn. 24 - vs. Northern Colorado, at 7 p.m. 26 - North Dakota, 1 p.m.

Oct. 1 - at Northern Arizona, 7 p.m. 3 - at Eastern Washington, 6 p.m. 8 - Portland State, 7 p.m. 10 - Sacramento State, 7 p.m. 15 - at Montana, 6 p.m. 17 - at Montana State, 6 p.m. 22 - at Weber State, 6 p.m. 24 - at Idaho State, 6 p.m. 29 - Montana State, 7 p.m. 31 - Montana, 7 p.m.

Nov. 5 - Southern Utah, 7 p.m. 7 - Eastern Washington, 7 p.m. 12 - at North Dakota, 5 p.m. 14 - at Northern Colorado, 11 a.m. 19-21 - Big Sky tournament.

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Lawson may be contacted at tlawson@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2260. Follow him on Twitter @TheoLawson_Trib.