Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Toledo volleyball split a doubleheader on the final day of the Fort Wayne Invitational as the Rockets defeated Quinnipiac in five sets (23-25, 25-22, 25-13, 21-25, 15-10) and fell to host Fort Wayne in four sets (25-14, 24-26, 21-25, 23-25) on Saturday.

On the final day of the tournament, the Rockets had five players with double-digit kills including four with over 20 kills. During Saturday's contests, freshman Emma Swope (Fredericksburg, Va.) led the Midnight Blue and Gold with 25 kills, 13 of which came against Fort Wayne. As a team against Quinnipiac and Fort Wayne, UT had a .251 hitting percentage along with 17 total blocks.

Overall at the Fort Wayne Invitational, senior Saige Thomas (Corpus Christi, Texas) led Toledo with 48 kills including a career-high 24 on Friday night against SIU Edwardsville. Junior Carly Townsend (Germantown, Wis.) amassed 145 assists and 36 digs for the tournament, recording a double-double against Fort Wayne.

As a team, the Rockets had four players with over 25 kills for the tournament with three players registering more than 30 kills.

Senior Rachel Vidourek (Oxford, Ohio) was named to the all-tournament team after registering 33 kills and an astonishing hitting percentage of .355. Vidourek also ranked second on the team with 14 total blocks.

The Rockets will return home next weekend to host the BG/UT Invitational inside Savage Arena. UT will begin the tournament on Friday, Sept. 1 against Southeastern Louisiana at 11:00 a.m., followed by a match with VCU at 7:00 p.m. On Saturday, Sept. 2, the Rockets will square off with ACC opponent Notre Dame at 7:00 p.m.

First Match vs. Quinnipiac
The Rockets earned their first win of the season on Saturday morning as they defeated Quinnipiac in five sets (23-25, 25-22, 25-13, 21-25, 15-10). It was a back and forth affair during the first two sets of the match as the first set was tied at 23-23 before the Bobcats won back-to-back points to take the set. In the second, Quinnipiac had the slim lead late in the set before Toledo rattled off a 25-22 victory.

The third set was dominated by the Rockets who scored 10 of the final 13 points to take the set, 25-13 and a 2-1 match lead. UT took advantage of the Bobcats midway through the set as the Midnight Blue and Gold rattled off four straight points and five of six, thanks to four Quinnipiac attack errors.

After the Rockets took a 10-9 lead in the fourth set, Quinnipiac took control of the match with nine straight points to earn a 25-21 fourth set victory.

Thomas was dominant once again for the Rockets in the fifth and final set as she helped UT defeat Quinnipiac, 15-10. The fifth set was tied at 7-7 before Thomas took over offensively, recording five of her team-high 15 kills to give UT its first victory of the season.

Four Rockets reached double-digit kills with Thomas leading the way with 15 followed by Vidourek with 14, Swope with 12 and senior Annie Beasley (Indianapolis, Ind.) with 11. Once again, the Rockets recorded double-digit blocks with 10 and Beasley leading the way with six.

Head Coach Greg Smith:
"I thought we did a nice job of bouncing back from last night's match against a good Quinnipiac team. We did some nice things and showed signs of more consistent play this morning."

Second Match vs. Fort Wayne
In the final match of the Fort Wayne Invitational the Rockets got off to a great start by dominating the first set, 25-14. Toledo raced out to a 21-9 lead in the first thanks to scoring six of seven points including four straight midway through the set. In the first set alone, the Rockets hit an astonishing .440 with sophomore Zoe Birnbrich (Dublin, Ohio) leading the way with five kills.

The final three sets were tightly contested between the Rockets and the Mastadons as UT dropped sets two, three and four by a combined eight points. In the second, UT led 24-23 before Fort Wayne's Sydney Boerst rattled off three straight kills to tie the match. Down the stretch in the fourth set, Fort Wayne once again closed strong scoring six of the final 10 points to take a 2-1 match lead.

UT and Fort Wayne went back and forth in the fourth set as neither team led by more than four points. After trailing early in the match, the Rockets recovered with four straight points and seven of eight to regain the lead at 15-11. However, the Mastadons rallied back and knotted the match up at 18-18. In the late stages of the set, Toledo held on to a slim 23-22 lead before the Mastadons put away three straight points to earn the set victory, 25-23 and the match, 3-1.

Overall, the Midnight Blue and Gold hit an impressive .299 against Fort Wayne with Townsend earning her first double-double of the season with 43 assists and 11 digs.  

Coach Smith Quotes:
"Another tough loss tonight as we were in the sets but struggled to finish them out. Definitely have some areas to work on this week in preparation for our home tournament this coming weekend."