Sept. 27, 2003

Box Score

Muncie, IN - Toledo (4-10, 0-2 MAC) came within a game of pulling off some history tonight in its 3-2 (30-26, 36-38, 27-30, 30-20, 15-11) setback at Ball State (6-7, 2-0 MAC). The Rockets were bidding to snap the Cardinals' 56-match win streak at Worthen Arena and also stop BSU's 31-match win streak against UT.

Five Rockets registered double-figure point totals led by sophomore middle blocker Kelsey Culver with 24 (13 kills, 3 aces, 4 block solos and 8 block assists). Culver's 12 total blocks equalled the third-most blocks recorded in school history. Junior outside hitter Rachel Mohler added 20 points thanks to a team-high 16 kills, three aces and two block assists. Freshman outside hitter Lora Sarich led UT in digs with 22 followed by freshman outside hitter Kate Bean with 19.

"We played some really good volleyball tonight and it was a very tight, close match," UT Head Coach Kent Miller said. "We had good performances by virtually all of our players. It's exciting to see our team compete at such a high level against one of the top teams in the conference. This should give us confidence going into our upcoming matches."

Ball State opened the match with a 30-26 victory in the first game. With the game tied at 23-23, BSU called a timeout to regain momentum and followed with three straight points to give the Cardinals the lead for good. The Rockets came within two points at 28-26, but BSU finished the game with a Kristin Westhof kill and a UT attack error. Both teams were strong defensively as both teams registered an attack percentage below .100 - Ball State (.083) and Toledo (.021)

Toledo responded in the second game with a hard-fought 38-36 victory. The Game 2 win marked only the second game win for the Rockets in Worthen Arena, and broke a string of 31 straight game victories for the Cardinals over UT at Worthen. The only other game Toledo had won on the Worthen floor up to that point came in Game 1 of BSU's 3-1 (11-15, 15-7, 15-2, 15-12) victory on Sept. 25, 1993. Sophomore Corrie Magnus registered eight kills in the game along with a .538 attack percentage.

Toledo continued to hold the momentum in Game 3 by winning its second straight game of the evening 30-27. The Rockets utilized a balanced attack with Culver, Mohler and sophomore right-side hitter Chelsey Poquette each notching four kills.

UT jumped out an early lead in Game 4 but the Cardinals tied the score at 5-5 and drew out to a 7-6 advantage before scoring six straight points to take a 13-6 hold on the game. Toledo would get within four points at 21-17, before BSU closed the game with a 9-3 run to win 30-20 and tie the match at two games apiece.

In the fifth and deciding game, Toledo took an 8-7 advantage into the court switch. After the two teams traded points to make the score 9-8 in favor of the Rockets, Ball State went on a 4-0 run to take a commanding 12-9 lead in the race to 15. The Rockets would close within two at 11-9, but the Cardinals eventually posted a 15-11 Game 5 victory.

Toledo returns home on Wednesday, Oct. 1 to host arch-rival Bowling Green in a match beginning at 7:00 p.m. at Savage Hall.