CHICAGO – Toledo ran into a red-hot DePaul attack on Friday evening en route to a 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-17) setback to the host Blue Demons. The match was the Rockets' first of three contests at this weekend's DePaul Invitational.

Sophomore MB Rachel Vidourek paced the Rockets with nine kills and a .412 attack percentage. For the season, the Oxford, OH native is hitting at a Mid-American Conference best .441 clip.

"We struggled with our passing and setting tonight and that made it tough for our hitters," Head Coach Greg Smith said. "Rachel has been our most consistent performer, and we need to try to achieve that type of consistency throughout our team."

Freshman Haley Sendelbach also enjoyed a productive evening with an .800 ATK% on 4-0-5 totals as well as a team-high three blocks. She entered the contest after fellow classmate Gracey Tuifua was injured.

Toledo was limited to a .182 team attack percentage compared to the Blue Demons' .342 hitting mark. Juniors Caitlyn Coffey and Brittany Maxwell spearheaded DePaul offensively with 10 kills apiece with Coffey registering a team-best a .615 ATK%.

The first set saw the hosts break free from the Rockets with a 7-2 spurt for a 15-8 lead. UT couldn't come closer than four points the rest of the way.

Toledo rebounded from a 4-0 deficit early in the second set to take an 11-9 lead. DePaul eventually regained its lead at 13-12 and held it until a Vidourek termination put UT in front 18-17. The Rockets then saw the Blue Demons assume a 22- 19 advantage before fighting back to even the score at 22 apiece. DePaul closed out the set with a pair of blocks on the final two points.

UT started strong in the final set as sophomore OH Annie Beasley tallied a pair of kills to put the Midnight Blue and Gold in front, 5-3. DePaul quickly regrouped by tallying six straight points and never looked back.

UT returns to action tomorrow with a pair of matches vs. Eastern Illinois (4-1) and Evansville (2-2). The Panthers swept the Purple Aces, 3-0 (25-13, 25-14, 26-17) in the tournament's first match of the day.