Rockets to Host Two Tournaments in Savage Arena as Part of 2017 Schedule

     Toledo, Ohio — Two tournaments in Savage Arena will be a part of the University of Toledo's volleyball schedule in its 2017 campaign, Head Coach Greg Smith announced on Tuesday.

     The Rockets reached the second round of last year's Mid-American Conference Tournament and will look to improve on that showing in their upcoming season with four returning starters. The senior trio of Annie Beasley, Saige Thomas and Rachel Vidourek is expected to lead the way for Toledo. Beasley posted a .275 attack percentage last year with 1.97 kps and 0.83 bps, Thomas tallied a team-best 2.91 kps (10th in MAC) and Vidourek notched a .314 hitting mark (seventh in MAC) to go along with 2.39 kps and 0.83 bps. UT also has three more veteran leaders in the form of with junior S Carly Townsend (10.36 aps/4th in MAC), junior libero Maurissa Leonard (4.49 dps/4th in MAC) and sophomore MH Zoe Birnbrich (0.94 bps/6th in MAC).

     "We'll have a lot of experience returning to the court in the fall and everyone should be familiar with what it's going to take to have a successful season," Smith said. "Our non-conference schedule will be one that will challenge us and help us prepare for league play."

      UT opens its campaign with a tournament at Fort Wayne (Aug. 25-26) against a field that includes SIUE (22-8), Quinnipiac (21-13) and the host Mastodons (13-18). The Rockets then return home to host Notre Dame (22-10), Southeastern Louisiana (7-23) and VCU (19-14) and as part of the BG/UT Invitational (Sept. 1-2).

     "We're extremely fortunate to be hosting two very good tournaments this fall," Smith said. "I think our schedule from top to bottom is stronger than last year, and that's going to require us to be more consistent with our performance."

     The Rockets hit the road again the following weekend with a trip to Marshall on Sept. 8-9 for a tournament that includes Maryland (12-20), Virginia Tech (13-18) and the host Thundering Herd (22-8). Toledo will wrap up its non-conference campaign with its Blue/Gold Invitational (Sept. 15-16) and will face a field that includes New Mexico (16-16), Tennessee Tech (7-22) and Youngstown State (8-22).

     UT opens Mid-American Conference play on the road at Central Michigan (Sept. 21) and Eastern Michigan (Sept. 23). The Rockets will then play eight of their next 10 matches at home with four-match homestands vs. Ball State (Sept. 28), Akron (Sept. 30), Northern Illinois (Oct. 6) and Western Michigan (Oct. 7), as well as Miami (Oct. 20), Bowling Green (Oct. 21), Eastern Michigan (Oct. 27) and Central Michigan (Oct. 28).

     The 2017 MAC Tournament will be hosted by Miami on Thursday-Sunday, Nov. 16-19 in Oxford, Ohio.

Rockets to Host Two Tournaments in Savage Arena as Part of 2017 Schedule

Players Mentioned

Annie Beasley

Zoe Birnbrich

Maurissa Leonard

Saige Thomas

Carly Townsend

Rachel Vidourek

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