Oct. 14, 2006

Final Stats

Toledo, OH - Toledo (6-15, 3-5 MAC) almost let a 2-0 lead slip away this afternoon but regrouped to post a 3-2 (30-26, 31-29, 23-30, 30-32, 15-13) victory over MAC West Division foe Western Michigan (13-9, 3-5 MAC) at Savage Hall. The victory snapped a seven-match homecourt losing streak for the Rockets and put UT into a tie with the Broncos in the West Division standings.

Sophomore OH Shannon Strachan registered a career-high 20 kills and a .459 attack percentage to lead a balanced Rocket offense as junior OH Sarah Kreher tallied a career-best 18 kills (.389 ATK%) to go along with senior OH Kate Bean's 16 terminations and freshman OH Stephanie Kersting's 13 kills (.367 ATK%). Junior setter Emi Holsclaw tallied a career-high 67 assists in the contest and helped UT outhit the Broncos by a .320-.291 margin. WMU was led by senior OH Kathryn Babcock's match-high 22 kills with junior MB Ashley Vogl and freshman OH Katie Eberling notching 16 kills apiece. Bean led UT defensively with 20 digs, while freshman libero Caitlin Strimel led the Broncos with 20 digs.

"This was an important match for us to win because we've let several opportunities to win matches this season slip away," UT Head Coach Kent Miller said. "I was pleased with how balanced and how effective our offense was throughout the match and it's good to see different people come up with big plays for us."

After the Broncos scored the first point of the match, the Rockets led throughout the entire first game with their biggest advantage coming at 17-10. Bean led UT in the game with seven kills and Strachan was perfect in her five attack attempts. Freshman Michelle Moore led the Broncos with four kills and a .667 hitting mark.

Toledo took its first lead in the second game at 5-4 and never let WMU take it back. The Rockets were up 24-17 but let the Broncos come back to tie the score at 29-29. UT closed out the game though with a Kersting kill and a Bronco attack error. Strachan paced UT's offense with six kills and a .500 ATK%, while Babcock and Vogl led WMU with five kills apiece.

The Rockets appeared ready to register a sweep until an 8-1 Western run gave the Broncos a 20-15 advantage in the third game. The closest UT could come the rest of the way was within four points. Vogl posted five kills and an .833 hitting mark to lead WMU, while Kreher posted five kills and a .571 ATK% for Toledo.

Toledo controlled most of the fourth game and was ahead late in the game by a 25-19 margin. UT held a 29-27 lead when Babcock tallied four straight kills and a Moore kill sent the match to a fifth game. Babcock registered six kills in the game for WMU, while Kersting tallied six for the Rockets.

The fifth game was tight throughout with neither team leading by more than one point until a Bean kill and a Babcock attack error gave UT a 13-11 lead. WMU fought right back though on kills by Vogl and freshman MB Tara Lowell. The Rockets then won the match on a Bean kill and a Kreher ace.

The Rockets return to action on Wednesday, Oct. 18 with a 7:00 p.m. contest at Eastern Michigan in a match that was originally scheduled for Friday, Oct. 20.