UT Begins Second Half of MAC Season at Miami, Bowling Green

Friday, October 21

Oxford, OH

7:00 p.m.

University of Toledo

Miami

UT Begins Second Half of MAC Season at Miami, Bowling Green

10/19/2016 11:32:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

TOLEDO, OH – Toledo (12-8, 5-3 MAC) will start a four-match road trip this weekend when they visit Mid-American Conference East Division leader Miami (16-4, 8-0 MAC) on Friday, Oct. 21 in Oxford, OH for a 7:00 p.m. match. The Rockets will then head to Bowling Green, OH on Saturday, Oct. 22 to face arch-rival BGSU (15-6, 5-3 MAC) at 5:00 p.m.

Last Weekend vs. Ohio, Kent State
    UT is coming off of a pair of wins vs. Ohio and Kent State. Last weekend, Toledo led Ohio 2-0 before dropping the third set, but a fourth-set victory pushed the Rockets to a 3-1 win over the Bobcats (25-23, 25-20, 22-25, 25-14). The following day, the Rockets secured a five-set victory against Kent State. After winning the first set (25-17) they fell short in the second and third sets (14-25, 23-25). Toledo came from behind to win the match due to a pair of strong performances in the final two sets (25-14, 15-6).

Beasley Boosts the Rockets
    Junior MB/OH Annie Beasley recorded a career-high 18 kills (.375 ATK%) and a match-high five blocks against Kent State. Against Ohio, Beasley had 10 kills and a match-high .529 ATK%. For the season, Beasley has posted 1.72 kps and a .244 ATK%.

Balanced Efforts at the Net
    Toledo's presence at the net was balanced throughout last weekend with three players hitting double-digit kills each match. Against the Bobcats, junior OH Saige Thomas paced UT with 11 kills, followed by Beasley and junior MB Rachel Vidourek, who each recorded 10 terminations. Beasley led the attack against Kent State with 18 kills and Thomas and Vidourek contributed 10 kills each. Sophomore OH/MB Gracey Tuifua recorded eight kills vs. Ohio and seven against the Golden Flashes. Thomas leads the team with 3.10 kps, followed by Tuifua (2.47 kps) and Vidourek (2.18 kps).
    As a team, the Rockets post 2.13 bps. Three players recorded five blocks in a match last weekend. Sophomore S Carly Townsend registered five against Ohio and Beasley and Vidourek each tallied five against Kent State. Overall, freshman MB Zoe Birnbrich leads the team with .98 bps, followed by Vidourek (.78 bps) and Beasley (.72 bps).

UT's Stable Backcourt
    UT remains strong in the backcourt with a balanced effort between sophomore libero Maurissa Leonard, senior DS Maggie Johnston and junior DS Lauren Bakaitis. Leonard averages 4.85 dps and led the defense last weekend with 19 digs vs. Ohio and 18 against Kent State. Johnston records 2.11 dps and notched 26 total digs last weekend. Bakaitis collected a season-high 17 digs vs. Kent State and averages 2.04 dps.

Rockets in the MAC Rankings

Toledo ranks second in blocks (2.13 bps)
Townsend is third in assists (10.53 aps)
Leonard places third in digs (4.77 dps)
Birnbrich sits sixth in blocks (1.00)
Vidourek ranks ninth in hitting % (.307)
Thomas is tenth in kills (3.01 kps)

Scouting Miami
Miami is currently riding a 13-match winning streak, ten of which have been sweeps. They are undefeated in the conference and lead the East Division. Junior OH Katie Tomasic leads the attack with 2.74 kps. In the backcourt, junior libero Maeve McDonald paces the team with 4.43 dps, placing her fifth in MAC standings. Senior MB Paige Hill ranks third in the league in hitting percentage (.353) and tied for first in blocks (1.13 bps). As a team, Miami ranks third in hitting percentage (.253), second in assists (12.32 aps), second in kills (13.49 kps), third in blocks (2.10 bps) and second in digs (16.31 dps).

Scouting Bowling Green
BGSU is on a five-match win streak after dropping its first three matches in conference play. The Falcons rank first in the league with a .265 ATK%, 13.26 aps, 14.14 kps and 16.88 dps. Senior OH Jelena Sunjic leads the Falcons and the MAC with 4.40 kps (.337 ATK%). Setting the pace for defense is senior libero Madeline Garda who leads the league with 6.64 dps. Junior S Katie Scholten quarterbacks BG and ranks second the MAC with 10.65 aps.

Toledo vs. Opponent

Toledo trails the all-time series against Miami, 36-11. The Rockets have lost the last two meetings with the RedHawks after alternating wins since 2009.
UT trails the all-time series against Bowling Green 47-15, however, the Rockets have won two of the last three matches in five sets

Looking Ahead
The Rockets will have rematches against Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan next week. Toledo will first travel to Mount Pleasant, MI on Thursday, Oct. 22 to face-off against the Chippewas at 7:00 p.m. That Saturday, Oct. 24, UT will meet Eastern Michigan in Yipsilanti, MI for an 8:00 p.m. match.