YPSILANTI, MI ? Toledo came up with the key points when it needed to on Saturday as the Rockets rolled to a 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-14) sweep of Eastern Michigan at the Convocation Center. UT's record improves to 11-14 overall and 3-9 in the Mid-American Conference with the victory, and the Midnight Blue and Gold are now tied with the Eagles (9-18, 3-9 MAC) for fifth place in the West Division.
Senior RSH Shannon Strachan paced Toledo's attack with a match-best 12 kills in addition to posting a .385 attack percentage. The Rockets' other offensive leaders were junior OH Stephanie Kersting with 11 kills and junior MB Lyndsey Holt with six kills and a .600 hitting mark. Holt also led UT with five blocks, while freshman OH Amber DeWeerdt collected a team-high 17 digs.
Junior Victoria Randolph led EMU with 10 kills, while Kim Jarzynka registered a match-best 18 digs.
The first set saw the Rockets take control early by scoring eight consecutive points for a 17-10 advantage. The Eagles battled back though to eventually knot the game at 19-19. The teams then exchanged points until UT scored three straight points on kills from junior MB Liz Sundburg, DeWeerdt and an Eagle attack error for a 24-22 lead. DeWeerdt closed out the set with a kill to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
The Eagles came out strong in the second set and never trailed until the Rockets took a 13-12 advantage after an EMU error. With the score tied at 15-15, Toledo took a 19-15 lead thanks to a Strachan kill, two Sundburg kills and an Eagle error. Eastern Michigan came back again to tie the game at 20-20. The teams then traded points until UT forced the hosts into two attack errors for a 2-0 lead heading into intermission.
The Rockets carried their momentum into the third set, jumping out to a 7-1 advantage and eventually completing the sweep with a 25-14 win. EMU closed to within 7-5 but that was as close as it would get.
Toledo concluded its five-match road stretch on Thursday, Nov. 6 when it travels to Ball State. UT will then conclude its regular season at home vs. Buffalo (Nov. 8), Northern Illinois (Nov. 14) and Western Michigan (Nov. 15).
