VALPARAISO, IN – Toledo fought hard on Tuesday evening but had to settle for a 3-1 (26-24, 25-20, 21-25, 25-21) defeat to a red-hot Valparaiso squad. The Crusaders improved to 10-1 with the victory, while the Rockets fell to 1-9.

UT held the upper hand in several statistical categories – kills (57-51), ATK% (.160.-.153), digs (84-82) and blocks (13-9) – but was hurt by its 10 service errors compared to Valpo's total of one.

Sophomore MB Rachel Vidourek topped UT's offense with 15 kills to go along with a .353 attack percentage. Also registering double-digit kill totals were junior OH Mary O'Connor and sophomore OH Saige Thomas with 12 kills apiece. Freshman MB Haley Sendelbach notched a team-best .500 hitting mark with 6-1-10 totals.

Senior Alex Hines and freshman Carly Townsend split the setting duties and collected 24 and 21 assists, respectively.

Vidourek also made a major impact at the net defensively by tying her career high with eight blocks. Freshman libero Maurissa Leonard paced the Rockets in the back row with a match-high 28 digs.

Valparaiso utilized a balanced attack with Carlson (12), Campbell (11) and Graboski (11) notching double-digit termination totals.

Toledo opened the match on fire as it surged to a 7-0 lead. The Crusaders answered with an eight-point run though to regain a 13-11 advantage. The Rockets then regrouped and had two set points after taking a 24-21 lead following back-to-back kills from O'Connor and Thomas. UT couldn't finish the set however as Valpo scored the set's final five points.

The Crusaders carried that momentum into the second set and led by as many as 10 points en route to a 25-20 victory.

The Rockets fell behind in Set 3 as well, trailing by a 17-10 margin. This time UT rallied with a 10-2 spurt for a 20-19 lead. Kills from Thomas and Vidourek put Toledo up 24-21 and a Thomas rejection closed out kept Toledo alive.

UT trailed 13-9 in the final stanza but scored four straight points to even the score. An O'Connor kill evened the score at 17-17, only to see the hosts go on a 5-1 run for a 22-18 cushion. The Rockets wouldn't go away though as Townsend followed a Valpo attack error with an ace and a kill to force a Crusader timeout. The Rockets couldn't tally another point though as Valparaiso concluded the match with a three-point run.

Toledo wraps up the non-conference portion of its 2015 schedule this weekend when it hosts the Blue/ Gold Invitational. The Rockets will face Robert Morris and Radford on Friday before meeting Cleveland State on Saturday.