TOLEDO, OH – Toledo (14-10, 7-5 MAC) will welcome Ball State (11-15, 7-5 MAC) and Buffalo (3-22, 2-10 MAC) to the Glass City this week to start its final four-match homestand of the regular season. The match against the Cardinals will be on Thursday, Nov. 3 at 7:00 p.m. Buffalo will visit Toledo on Saturday, Nov. 5 for a 7:00 p.m. contest. Both matches will be played in Savage Arena and broadcast live on ESPN3.
          UT is returning home for its last four regular-season matches after sweeping both Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan on the road last weekend. The Rockets dominated the two teams, holding the Chippewas to a .131 ATK% and the Eagles to a .036 ATK% while posting .264 ATK% and .212 ATK% themselves, respectively. The Rockets rank third in the MAC with their .192 opponent ATK%.
          Junior MB Rachel Vidourek and sophomore libero Maurissa Leonard were chosen as the Mid-American Conference West Division Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, the league office announced on Monday.
        This is the second time both players have received this honor this season, and the fourth and fifth time a Toledo athlete has been awarded. This is Leonard's fourth player of the week selection in her career, and the second time for Vidourek.
        Leonard enjoyed a stand-out weekend after tying her career-high of 32 digs against Central Michigan. She followed up at Eastern Michigan tallying 14 digs. Leonard leads the defense with 4.95 dps, ranking her third in the conference.
        Vidourek produced 13 terminations against Central Michigan and six vs. Eastern Michigan. Over the weekend she registered a team-high 3.17 kills per set and an impressive .600 attack percentage. Vidourek has a season .325 ATK%, placing her fifth in the MAC.
          Junior DS Lauren Bakaitis and senior DS Maggie Johnston also posted double-digit digs against CMU with 13 and 10 digs, respectively. Junior MB Annie Beasley led the defensive efforts at the net against EMU, tallying a career-high nine rejections. Senior RSH Mary O'Connor also contributed with seven blocks.
          Another well-balanced offense propelled the Rockets to two victories over the past weekend. Beasley registered 10 kills against the Chippewas and eight against the Eagles. Junior OH Saige Thomas tallied eight terminations against each team. For the season, Thomas posts 2.93 kps (10^th in MAC), followed by sophomore OH Gracey Tuifua with 2.32 kps and Vidourek with 2.23 kps.
          The Cardinals also played against Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan this weekend, deafeating EMU in four sets and CMU in five. Sophomore OH Brooklyn Goodsel sets the pace on offense, scoring 3.06 kps, placing her eighth in the MAC standings. Freshman libero Kate Avila leads the defense with 4.08 dps. As a team, the Cardinals are third in the MAC with 16.01 dps.
          Buffalo lost to both Ohio and Kent State in four sets last weekend. Buffalo ranks third in the conference with 2.12 bps. Sophomore OH Valisha Watkins leads the attack with 2.43 kps. Junior MB Cassie Shado follows with 2.37 kps and records a .402 ATK% which tops the MAC statistics. Freshman libero Hannah Watson paces the backcourt with 3.85 dps.
  • Ball State leads the Rockets in its all-series 60-7. Toledo won the first meeting this season in Muncie and is looking to sweep season series vs. Cardinals for the second time in the last four years.
• Toledo leads the series against Buffalo 19-3. Last season, UT suffered just its third loss ever to the Bulls in the form of a 1-3 defeat.
          Toledo will finish the regular season at home vs. Northern Illinois on Friday, Nov. 11 at 7:00 p.m. and against Western Michigan on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 5:00 p.m. Both games will be played in Savage Arena and broadcast live on ESPN3.