MT. PLEASANT, MI ? Toledo battled Central Michigan point for point in the first three sets on Friday night but still came up on the short end of a 3-1 (26-24, 23-25, 25-23, 25-14) decision at Rose Arena. Each of the first three sets were decided by two points with the Rockets letting a five-point lead slip away in the first set and a four-point advantage evaporate in the third set.
The victory kept CMU (15-8, 9-2 MAC) a game behind Western Michigan (19-3, 10-1 MAC) in the West Division standings, while the Rockets' record dropped to 10-14 overall and 2-9 in the MAC.
Senior OH Shannon Strachan led all players with 15 kills for the Rockets in addition to posting a team-high .314 attack percentage. Freshman OH Amber DeWeerdt also was in double figures for UT with 12 kills in addition to leading UT with 16 digs for her team-high 11th double-double of the season.
Sophomore OH Lauren Krupsky paced the Chippewas' offense with 12 kills followed by freshman MB Kaitlyn Schultz and senior MB Whitney Evers tallying 11 kills apiece.
Central connected for a .230 attack percentage in the match, while holding Toledo to a .124 mark. Aiding CMU's cause were nine aces and 11 blocks, in addition to 28 attacking errors by the Rockets. Schultz led CMU with six blocks, while junior Alexis Lonneman paced the CMU defense with 19 digs.
Toledo will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 1 when it travels to Ypsilanti, MI to meet Eastern Michigan (9-17, 3-8 MAC) in a 3:00 p.m. matinee. The Eagles dropped a 3-1 decision tonight at home to Ball State.
