Athens, Ohio— The Toledo women's volleyball team has now won four of its last five matches after Friday night's incredible 3-2 win (17-25, 25-21, 25-22, 22-25, 19-17) over Ohio.
Rachel Vidourek led the way offensively with 16 kills and four solo blocks and teammates Saige Thomas (14) and Annie Beasley (10) also reached double-digits in terminations. Beasley hit .500 on the night to lead Toledo. Carly Townsend did her part too, adding 46 assists, and two Rockets registered at least 30 digs: Lauren Bakaitis (31) and Maurissa Leonard (32).
Ohio won the first set then UT came out and won sets two and three. The Bobcats won the fourth frame to set up a decisive fifth set that took extra points to decide. Beasley's tenth and final kill brought the match to an end and secured the victory for the Midnight Blue and Gold.
Next up for Toledo is a road match at Kent State on Saturday, which is set to begin at 7:00 p.m.
First Set: The Rockets and Bobcats were neck and neck to start out the match tonight, constantly flip-flopping on the scoreboard until the score was all tied up at 11-11. From that point on, Ohio scored seven of the next eight points and pulled away from Toledo. The final score of the first set would be 25-17 with UT on the losing end.
Second Set: As was the case with every set tonight, Toledo and Ohio started things off taking turns going out in front. The Bobcats did lead 13-9 at one point, but the Rockets rattled off seven of the next nine points to usurp control of the lead, 16-15. Ohio would come back to tie the set at 16-16 and 18-18, but would never come any closer. UT won the second frame 25-21, tying the match at 1-1.
Third Set: Toledo won the third set 25-22 to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Vidourek and Thomas led the charge with four and three kills, respectively. It was a wild set from start to finish; it was, again, back and forth with Ohio taking a 13-12 lead at one point. With Leonard serving the Rockets rattled off seven consecutive points to take a commanding 19-13 advantage. The Bobcats would not go quietly, though; they scored three straight points to come within three (19-16) and stormed back after being down 24-17 (Toledo's largest lead of the night) to make the score 24-22. Vidourek then took matters into her own hands and ended things swiftly with her fourth and final kill of the frame, giving UT a 25-22 win.
Fourth Set: Ohio won the fourth set to force the decisive fifth frame. Beasley and Vidourek both tallied three kills to lead the team. The Bobcats took a 10-7 lead over the Rockets that eventually evaporated entirely, with Toledo jumping ahead 17-15. The lead didn't last long, though; Ohio tied things up at 18-18 and didn't look back, earning a 25-22 victory to send the match to a fifth set.
Fifth Set: The final frame was marked by both teams scoring points in bunches. Toledo took an early 3-1 advantage, then Ohio came right back with three straight points. The Bobcats would go on to take a 10-6 lead spearheaded by a 5-0 run, but the Rockets came right back with five straight points of their own to go ahead 11-10. The Midnight Blue and gold clawed back to make the score 14-14 and, after trading points with Ohio, finally wrapped things up to win 19-17 after a final termination from Beasley.
