Rockets Rally From 2-0 Deficit for Five-Set Victory Over Evansville

Saturday, September 5

Chicago, IL

5:30 PM

University of Toledo

1-5

Evansville

3-4

Evansville

TOLEDO

Sophomore Rachel Vidourek topped UT with 19 kills in the Rockets' 3-2 win over Evansville.

Rockets Rally From 2-0 Deficit for Five-Set Victory Over Evansville

9/5/2015 8:45:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

CHICAGO – Toledo (1-5) fought back from a 2-0 deficit on Saturday evening to register a 3-2 (23-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-23, 17-15) triumph over Evansville (3-4) for its initial victory of the 2015 campaign. The contest was the Rockets' final match of the weekend at the DePaul Invitational.

Sophomore OH Rachel Vidourek and junior RSH Mary O'Connor paced a balanced UT offense with 19 and 16 kills, respectively. Freshman Carly Townsend (13 kills), sophomore Saige Thomas (12 kills) and freshman Haley Sendelbach (10 kills) joined the duo in double figures.

Vidourek and Sendelbach topped Toledo defensively at the net with five and four rejections apiece, while freshman Maurissa Leonard collected a season-high 30 digs in her first match as UT's libero.

"I was proud of the way we came back following a tough loss to start the day," Head Coach Greg Smith said. "Everyone who played made key contributions and we're learning something new about ourselves each time we step on the court. We made some lineup changes prior to our first match with Carly (Townsend) playing the right side, Mary (O'Connor) moving to the left side and Haley (Sendelbach) playing in the middle. I think those worked well as we became more familiar with different roles on the court."

Sophomore Genesis Miranda carried the Purple Aces' offense with 27 kills and a .328 hitting mark.

Vidourek, who was named to the all-tournament team for a second straight weekend, keyed the Rockets' win in the final set by posting six kills, two blocks and an amazing .750 ATK%. She tallied UT's final six points, including two kills and a block for the final points of the match.

"Rachel was our most consistent player throughout the tournament," Head Coach Greg Smith said. "She really came through for us at the end of the match when we needed some points."

After falling behind 2-0, Toledo produced its best offensive set of the match with a .308 attack percentage in Set 3. Townsend, who topped the Rockets with four kills in the set, teamed with O'Connor to key UT's rally from a 22-20 deficit as each tallied a pair of kills in the Midnight Blue and Gold's final five-point run.

UT trailed just twice in the fourth set and led by as many as five points, including a 22-17 margin late. The Purple Aces regrouped though and evened the score at 23-23. Following a Rocket timeout, Townsend and O'Connor shut the door as each notched a kill to send the match to a fifth set.

The Rockets return to action next weekend with a trip to Normal, IL for Illinois State's Country Financial Redbird Classic. UT will face IUPUI and Youngstown State on Friday, Sept. 11 before meeting the host Redbirds on Saturday, Sept. 12.