Oct. 4, 2002

Final Stats

TOLEDO, OH - Toledo (10-4, 2-1 MAC) suffered its first home setback of the season tonight with a 3-2 (29-31, 30-24, 30-19, 25-30, 15-9) loss to perrennial MAC power Ball State (7-6, 3-0 MAC) in a match lasting two hours and 21 minutes tonight at Savage Hall.

"I'm proud of the way we came back tonight after losing the second and third games and falling behind in the fourth," UT Head Coach Kent Miller said. "We really showed a lot of heart. Even though we lost tonight, I'm excited about the possibilities this team has because Ball State in a very good team."

The Rockets were led offensively by seniors Jessica Buck (19 kills, .275 ATK%). and Heidi Neumeister (16 kills, .293 ATK%), while the tandem of freshman Sarah Obras (26 kills, .295 ATK%) and senior Katie Butts (23 kills, .250 ATK%) paced the Cardinals' attack.

Senior Bitsy Mayhle led the way in the dig department for the Rockets with 19 and now has 997 digs in her career to rank ninth in UT history. In the blocking department, senior Natalie Mash and junior Carrie McCaw each notched a team-high four blocks.

The match was competitive right from the start as the Rockets overcame a 26-21 deficit in the first game. With Ball State serving at 29-27, UT scored the final four points to earn the win with senior Becky Radomski's ace ending the game.

In the second game, the Cardinals utilized an 8-1 run to take control after the Rockets had tied the game at 15-15 with six straight points. The closest UT could come was five points the remainder of the game.

The third game featured more scoring runs by both teams. UT led 17-11 before Ball State tallied eight straight points for a two-point lead. After the Rockets climbed to within 19-18, the Cardinals registered 11 of the game's final 12 points to take a 2-1 advantage.

BSU appeared ready to win the fourth game when it took a 23-16 lead, but the Rockets went on a 14-2 run to send the match to a fifth game. In the fifth game, UT never led and the Cardinals' lead didn't fall below three points after taking a 10-7 advantage.

The Rockets will return to action tomorrow night at Savage Hall against another of the MAC's three unbeaten teams, Akron (12-3, 3-0 MAC).