TOLEDO, OH ? Toledo held off a feisty Akron squad on Tuesday night to post a 3-1 (25-19, 25-22, 22-25, 25-21) triumph over the Zips in the first round of the 2008 Mid-American Conference Tournament. The victory moves the No. 8 seed Rockets (14-16) into a 4:30 p.m. quarterfinal matchup against top-seeded Western Michigan (23-4) on Friday, Nov. 21 at the SeaGate Centre in downtown Toledo. Akron closed out its season with an 11-17 record.

The other MAC Quarterfinal contests will see No. 4 Central Michigan facing No. 5 Bowling Green at 11:00, No. 3 Miami battling No. 6 Northern Illinois at 1:30 p.m. and No. 2 Ohio taking on No. 7 Ball State at 7:00 p.m. The winners of Friday's matches will advance to the MAC Tournament semifinals being held on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 4:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. The championship match is slated for Sunday, Nov. 23 at 3:00 p.m.

Toledo was led by a combination of experience and youth as senior RSH Shannon Strachan and freshman OH Amber DeWeerdt each registered a match-high 17 kills, while freshman S Kassie Kadera contributed a match-high 54 assists. Akron's Jennifer Stewart posted the most digs in the match (20), while DeWeerdt led the Rockets in digs with 14.

"Both Shannon and Amber have played very important roles to our success this season and they both came through when we needed them to tonight," Toledo Head Coach Kent Miller said. "Akron played us tough tonight and I was glad to see us overcome the adversity we faced when we were trailing in the fourth set. I think the key for us was able to utilize our strong serving and that helped us change the momentum."

In the first set, Toledo put together a six-point victory over the Zips, 25-19. Akron jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead but the Rockets closed within a point at 6-5. Akron answered back with two points to take a three-point lead. The Rockets came right back with three-straight points to tie the match at eight. With senior libero Lori Ruth serving, UT was able to take its first lead at 9-8 on an Akron attacking error. A Kadera service ace put UT up by three at 12-9 before the Zips took a timeout to regain composure. A three-point streak for Akron tied the match once again, this time at 12. A Strachan kill and a block by Strachan and junior MB Lyndsey Holt gave the Rockets a two-point edge at 14-12.Over the next eight points, UT's lead would fluctuate between one and two points before the Rockets took a 19-16 advantage on a kill by junior OH Stephanie Kersting. Kersting notched another kill to add to the Rockets' cushion, causing Akron to take another timeout in hopes of stopping the Rocket surge. Toledo scored four straight points out of the timeout and was within a point of taking the set before Akron fought to keep the set alive with three consecutive points of its own to put the score at 24-19. UT took a timeout and it proved to be beneficial as the Rockets closed out the set on the next play with a Kersting kill to push the score to 25-19.

The second set also went in favor of the Rockets, 25-22, thanks to a strong hitting attack from Strachan. Toledo started with a 1-0 edge over Akron but the set followed the pattern of the first as the score remained within a two-point buffer until Strachan gave the Rockets a three-point lead at 7-4. After an exchange of points, another Strachan kill pushed the Rocket advantage to four at 9-5. On the next play, Akron's Caitlin O'Patchen launched a strong attack to the far side of the court but Kersting came up with a diving dig that Kadera was able to set to for a kill. With Toledo up five points, Akron took its first timeout of the set with the score at 10-5. Akron scored three of the next five points to reduce its deficit to 12-8 but Strachan added another kill to her total to give UT another five-point lead. DeWeerdt gave Toledo a six-point edge at 14-8 before the Zips were able to score four of the next six points to get within four at 16-12. Back-to-back Toledo points had UT up by six points once again at 18-12 and Akron chose to take its second timeout of the set. UA came out of the timeout and scored the first point, but UT answered with three points to elevate its lead to eight at 21-13. The Zips once again showed their resiliency late in the set with four straight points to get within four points at 21-17. UT opted to take a timeout in hopes of slowing down the Zips, but Akron came out and tallied two points to get within 21-19. Toledo took another timeout and the next four points were split between the teams to put the Rockets within two points of taking the set with a two-point lead under their belts. Junior MB Sarah Wilson put Toledo within a point of winning the set at 24-21 before Akron marked another point to put the score at 24-22. Strachan proved to be a force for the Rockets once more when she notched her ninth kill of the set to close it out in Toledo's favor, 25-22.

Akron came out of the break with vigor, taking five of the first six points of the third set and eventually getting the win, 25-22. With UA holding a 5-1 edge, the teams split the next four points to set the score at 7-3. A kill by Kersting and a Ruth service ace put UT back within two at 7-5. UT and UA split the next 10 points before the Zips took two straight points for a five-point lead at 13-8. DeWeerdt cut the lead back down to four points with a kill at 13-9 but another Akron kill pushed the UA lead back to five at 14-9. Akron's lead increased to six at 15-9 but a quick three-point spurt brought UT back within three at 15-12. Akron scored two unanswered points for another five-point advantage at 17-12. The next three points went in favor of the Rockets, cutting the Zips' lead to two at 17-15. Toledo and Akron split the next two points, allowing the Rockets to get back within two points. Akron pushed its lead back up to four points once again at 20-16, causing Toledo to use a timeout. Another exchange of points out of the timeout had the score at 21-17 when a tip by Strachan and a block by Strachan and junior MB Liz Sundburg had UT back within two at 21-19, causing Akron to use a timeout. The next four points went back-and-forth between the teams before an attacking error by Akron reduced the point differential to one at 23-22. After an Akron kill, Toledo took its second timeout of the set as the Zips were sitting on set point. An attacking error by UT closed out the set for the Zips, 25-22.

In the fourth set, UT closed out the match with a 25-21 win to earn its spot in the quarterfinals. Akron took an 8-4 lead before the Rockets decided to take a timeout. Following the timeout, the next eight points were split evenly between the teams, allowing the Zips to hold their four-point edge at 12-8. UT put itself within one point at 12-11 after a Kersting kill and two Akron errors. The Zips used a timeout before they went back to their two-point advantage at 13-11. Sundburg then put the Rockets back within one with a kill. With the score at 13-12, a tip kill by Strachan tied the score at 13 and DeWeerdt followed with a kill to give UT its first lead of the set, 14-13. Akron knotted it up again at 14 but UT's No. 14 ? Holt ? gave the edge back to the Rockets at 15-14. Strachan snuck in a service ace over the top edge of the net for another UT point. An Akron setting error gave the Rockets a three-point edge, causing the Zips to take another timeout. Coming out of the timeout, an Akron attacking error and DeWeerdt kill gave the Rockets a five-point edge at 19-14. An Akron attack halted Toledo's five-point run and a Toledo error put the Zips within three. DeWeerdt knocked down another kill for UT and an Akron setting error put the Rockets back up by five at 21-16. Back-to-back points by the Zips put them within three at 21-18 but a block by Toledo's Holt and Kadera had the Rockets up 22-18. Two consecutive points in Akron's favor had UT take a timeout at 22-20. A tip kill by Kersting gave Toledo the first point out of the timeout and had UT within two points of winning the match at 23-20. A cross-court kill by Strachan set up match point for the Rockets at 24-20 but a Toledo attacking error gave the Zips additional life in the match. Akron, however, followed with an error of its own, giving UT set and match point, 25-21.