TOLEDO, OH - The Toledo volleyball team visits Chicago this weekend for the DePaul Invitational on Friday-Saturday, Sept. 4-5. The Rockets will battle the host Blue Demons (2-1) on the first day of competition at 8:00 p.m. before wrapping up tournament play the next day against Eastern Illinois (3-0) and Evansville (2-1).
        UT was winless in its season-opening Rocket Invitational with losses to Bradley (3-2), Green Bay (3-1) and Youngstown State (3-0).
        "We learned a lot of things about ourselves last weekend," said Toledo head coach Greg Smith. "We found areas where we excelled, in addition to specific aspects we need to work on. It was certainly disappointing not to come away with a win this past weekend, but as a young team we need to keep focusing on executing the details needed to be successful."
        Sophomore MB Rachel Vidourek paced the Rockets in their opening weekend with an impressive team-high .451 attack percentage to go along with 2.17 kps and 0.75 bps. For her efforts, Vidourek earned a spot on the all-tournament team.
        Junior RSH Mary O'Connor tallied a team-best 2.93 kps and a .295 ATK%, while sophomore OH Saige Thomas notched 2.83 kps, including a career-high 18 terminations vs. Bradley.
        Senior Alex Hines and freshman Carly Townsend split the setter duties during the opening weekend with Hines notching 8.12 aps and Townsend adding 7.62 aps.
        Junior Maggie Johnston and Vidourek topped the Rockets' defensive efforts with 4.33 digs and 0.75 blocks per set, respectively.
        DePaul registered a runner-up finish last weekend at Western Illinois' Hampton Inn Invitational, with senior OH Callie Huebener garnering 2.82 kills per set, a .253 attack percentage and seven service aces.
        Eastern Illinois dropped a 3-1 home decision to Indiana State on Tuesday after winning the IPFW Invitational last weekend. Senior OH Kayla Nesbitt earned tournament MVP honors with a .302 ATK%, 2.83 kps and 0.67 dps.
        Sophomore OH Genesis Miranda led the Purple Aces to a second-place showing at Wright State's Holiday Inn Classic by collecting 4.33 kills, 2.25 digs, 0.92 blocks and 0.33 aces per set.
 
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
        Following is the schedule for this weekend with all matches to be played in McGrath-Phillips Arena in Chicago, IL (3,000):
 
FRIDAY, SEPT. 4
Evansville vs. Eastern Illinois, 5:30 p.m.
Toledo at DePaul, 8:00 p.m.
 
SATURDAY, SEPT. 5
Toledo vs. Eastern Illinois, 11:00 a.m.
Evansville at DePaul, 1:00 p.m.
Toledo vs. Evansville, 5:30 p.m.
Eastern Illinois at DePaul, 8:00 p.m.

PICKING UP WHERE SHE LEFT OFF
        Sophomore Rachel Vidourek picked up where she left off from the 2014 campaign with a hot start to this season.
        Vidourek notched a .579 ATK% (11-0-19) vs. YSU and a .500 mark (10-1-18) vs. Green Bay in last weekend's Rocket Invitational.
        The Oxford, OH native registered a .344 ATK with 2.69 kps and 1.09 bps in her final eight matches last season.
 
SAIGE SLAMS HER WAY TO CAREER HIGH
        Sophomore Saige Thomas opened the season with a bang, hammering a career-high 18 kills with a .250 attack percentage against Bradley (Aug. 28). Thomas also produced an impressive .471 hitting mark with 9-1-17 totals vs. Youngstown State (Aug. 29).
        Thomas, who switched from the right side to the left side attack in the off-season, ranks second on the team with 2.83 kills per set and fourth with a .204 ATK% this year.
 
O'CONNOR OPENS WITH A BANG
        Junior Mary O'Connor topped Toledo with 2.92 kps while posting a .295 attack mark in the Rocket Invitational.
        O'Connor tied her career high with 15 kills vs. Green Bay to go along with a career-best  .433 ATK%. The Muskego, WI native also tallied 14 terminations vs. Bradley (Aug. 28) and four blocks vs. Youngstown State (Aug. 29).

ROCKETS RECEIVE AVCA TEAM ACADEMIC AWARD
        Toledo was awarded the AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2014-15 school year. It marked the 15th straight season the Rockets have received the honor and the 35th straight semester the program has earned at least a 3.0 GPA.
 
ROCKETS VS. THE FIELD
• Toledo has split two previous meetings vs. DePaul with the last matchup resulting in a 3-1 (30-17, 28-30, 30-13, 30-25) Rocket win on Aug. 31, 2002 at the Eastern Illinois Invitational.
• The Rockets hold a 4-1 all-time win-loss mark vs. Eastern Illinois, including a pair of 3-2 wins in the 2012 and 2013 campaigns.
• UT emerged victorious in its lone meeting vs. Evansville, a 3-0 win on Sept. 1, 1995 in a tournament hosted by the Purple Aces.
 
A LOOK AHEAD
        The Rockets will remain on the road next weekend at Illinois State's Redbird Classic with matches vs. Youngstown State, IUPUI and the host Redbirds.
                Toledo will also visit Horizon League member Valparaiso on Tuesday, Sept. 15 at 8:00 p.m. before hosting the Blue/Gold Invitational in Savage Arena on Friday-Saturday, Sept. 18-19.