Rockets Fall to Huskies, 3-0

Saturday, November 11

DeKalb, Ill.

7:00 p.m. CT

University of Toledo

12-16 (7-9MAC)

Northern Illinois

8-23 (7-9MAC)

Toledo

Northern Illinois

UT falls at NIU to end the 2017 season

11/11/2017 10:18:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Final Box Score (PDF)

DeKalb, Ill.— Toledo volleyball dropped its final match of the 2017 season on Saturday, falling to Northern Illinois 3-0 (22-25, 23-25, 17-25).

Saige Thomas led the team with 14 kills on Saturday night, while Annie Beasley and Emma Swope each tallied nine apiece. Lauren Bakaitis had 15 digs, and Carly Townsend had 34 assists, both of whom led the Rockets in their respective statistical categories. Beasley ended the season with a .363 hitting percentage, setting a new school record.

Toledo ends the year with a record of 12-16 and a 7-9 mark in Mid-American Conference play.

First Set: Toledo started off the night well, scoring five of the first six points to take a 5-1 lead over Northern Illinois. UT held the lead until an 11-3 run for the Huskies put them ahead, 17-13. NIU would not trail for the remainder of the set, though Toledo did make it close a few times. The Rockets pulled within one point, at 18-17 and again at 20-19, but not any closer. UT dropped the first frame, 25-22, to fall behind 1-0 in the match. Thomas had six kills in game one to lead both teams.

Second Set: UT took a 6-4 lead to kick things off in the second set, fueled by plays from Emma Swope and Rachel Vidourek. NIU was able to tie the game up at 10-10, but three straight points from the Midnight Blue and Gold gave them a 13-10 advantage, their biggest of the second stanza. The Huskies would not stay down for long, scoring the next six to jump ahead, 16-13. Northern Illinois would grow its lead to 20-16 before four straight points from Toledo tied the score at 20-20. Another tie score came about at 22-22, but the Huskies were able to pull away and win, 25-23, to put the Rockets down 2-0 in the match.

Third Set: Northern Illinois started the third set off strong and grabbed a 9-3 lead over the Rockets. Toledo actually scored the first two points of the third game, but NIU surged ahead with a 9-1 run to take a commanding lead. The Rockets got two of those points back, making the score 9-5, but Northern Illinois stepped on the gas and scored the next seven points to take a 16-5 lead, the largest of the night to that point. Toledo was not able to overcome the large deficit and, when all was said and done, NIU won the third set 25-17 and won the match 3-0.