TOLEDO, OH - Freshman OH Amber DeWeerdt capped off an impressive weekend with a second-straight 21-kill performance to help Toledo register a 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-12) triumph over Kent State on Saturday afternoon at St. Ursula Academy. The Rockets improved to 10-11 overall and 2-6 in the Mid-American Conference with the victory, while the Golden Flashes fell to 13-8 overall and 3-5 in the league.
“It was a tough loss for us last night and I was very pleased with our approach in today's match,” said Miller about UT's 3-2 loss to Ohio Friday night in which the Rockets let a 14-10 lead in the fifth set slip away. “We had a strong defensive performance that kept Kent State from getting untracked, and we also were efficient offensively.”
Toledo out-hit KSU by a .248-.156 margin and posted impressive .314 and .333 hitting marks in the third and fourth sets, respectively. Freshman S Kassie Kadera notched six kills and a 1.000 ATK% in addition to collecting 44 assists and 14 digs. Senior RSH Shannon Strachan also was in double figures with 11 kills and posted a team-high .286 ATK%.
DeWeerdt led four Rockets in double figures with digs with a match-high 17 for her team-best 10th double-double of the season. Senior libero Lori Ruth tallied 15 digs, while Kadera and junior OH Stephanie Kersting tallied 14 apiece.
UT fell behind 10-4 early in the first set but rallied to tie the score at 17-17. Kent State quickly answered with a three-point run and the closest the Rockets could get the rest of the way was one point on three different occasions.
Toledo never trailed in the second set after jumping out to a 3-0 lead and led 14-6 before seeing KSU mount a comeback. The Golden Flashes went on an 11-3 run but the Rockets maintained their composure with kills from DeWeerdt and Kadera and a KSU attack error finishing the set. DeWeerdt tallied six of her kills in the set to lead UT.
The Rockets trailed early in the third set but kept the pressure on Kent State. UT broke open the set with a 7-2 run to take a 19-12 advantage. DeWeerdt repeated her offensive performance with six more kills to go along with a .429 hitting mark.
Toledo dominated the fourth set from the outset, surging to a 6-2 advantage. The Rockets didn't let up expanding their lead to as much as 21-7. DeWeerdt led UT with five kills with Strachan and junior MB Sarah Wilson adding four kills apiece.
The Rockets return to action on Friday, Oct. 24 at MAC East Division leader Miami, the first of five straight matches on the road.
