Sept. 30, 2000

Box Score

TOLEDO, OH - The University of Toledo women's volleyball team lost another tough match-up on Saturday afternoon, falling 15-8, 13-15, 15-8 and 15-12 to the Akron Zips at Savage Hall. With the loss the Rockets have dropped three straight and fall to 4-8 overall (1-2 MAC), while the Zips improve to 7-8 overall (2-2 MAC).

Toledo was coming off a gut-wrenching 3-2 loss to Ohio last night in Savage Hall, while Akron was blanked by Western Michigan in Kalamazoo, MI, 3-0. In the match with the Bobcats, the Rockets fell behind 2-0 and fought back with back-to-back 15-5 wins, only to lose the fifth game, 16-14 in the deciding match.

Against the Zips, Toledo was led by sophomore outside hitter Becky Radomski, who recorded 14 kills and 14 digs.

In game one, Akron jumped out to 5-0 and 8-4 leads. Toledo cut the lead to 10-7 and forced Akron into a timeout, only to have the Zips reel off three straight points. The two teams exchanged points and Akron, on the strength of Amy Hurley's powerful serves led UA to a 15-8 victory. Freshman Sandy Lewis led Akron with four kills, while sophomores Bitsy Mayhle and Jessica Buck led the Rockets in the opening game with two kills a piece.

In game two, the Rockets became the aggressors and jumped out to a 6-0 lead on Radomski's four kills. Akron closed that gap and took the lead at 9-7 on again the powerful jump serves by Hurley and forced the Rockets into a timeout. In that series of Zip points, Hurley registered two service aces. UT recovered very nicely and took the lead at 10-9 only to have Zips score four straight points to take a 13-10 lead. After a side out for the Rockets, Toledo's Theresa Estes delivered a serving spark for the Midnight Blue and Gold to tie the score at 13-13 a piece. Toledo took the last two points and the second game, 15-13. For the second game, UT recorded 14 kills with Radomski accounting for eight of them.

In game three, the Zips ran out to a 4-0 and 8-6 lead. After some back-and-forth plays and a couple Akron substitutions, UA extended its lead to six by taking a 13-7 lead. Toledo would then take a point to cut the lead to 13-8, then Akron scored two consecutive points and finished the match off, 15-8. For Game 3, Akron registered 16 kills, as compared to only 11 for UT. Ashlie Case led UA with five digs.

Facing elimination in Game Four, the Rockets soared out to a 7-2 lead. Akron responded with four consecutive points to cut the lead to 7-6. Toledo would then go on a run of their own, reeling off four straight to stretch their lead to 11-6 and force Akron into a timeout. The Zips mounted a comeback to cut the UT lead to three at 12-10. After a side out giving the serve back to Akron, UA scored three straight points to retake the lead for good at 13-12 behind the strong hitting of Akron's Katie Kuzior. Miranda Valentine served an ace to make the score 14-10. The Zips wrapped up the match on a fast and furious exchange before Radomski's attack error ended the two-hour match.

The Rockets will next be in action on Wednesday, Oct. 4, when they host arch rival Bowling Green at Savage Hall at 7:00 p.m.