Toledo, Ohio— The University of Toledo women's volleyball team hosts a pair of MAC West Division foes this weekend, welcoming Western Michigan to Savage Arena on Friday night before playing Northern Illinois on Saturday.

Both matches start at 7:00 p.m. and will be available on ESPN+. Saturday's match against the Huskies will also be broadcast locally on BCSN.

Toledo vs. Western Michigan, 7:00 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch
Toledo vs. Northern Illinois, 7:00 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch

UT lost to NIU earlier this season, but defeated WMU in five sets. In DeKalb, the Rockets got progressively closer to the Huskies as the match went on, but were unable to find themselves on the winning end of a set. Chloee Kleespies had a team-high 10 kills while Zoe Birnbrich and Alexis Falzone both tallied five terminations and hit over .300. Birnbrich also registered a season-high seven block assists. The Huskies' offensive duo of Jori Radtke and Meg Wolowicz combined for 31 kills.

Toledo fared better against Western Michigan. The Rockets won the first two sets, but allowed the Broncos to push the match to five sets, where UT came away with a 16-14 win. Zoe Birnbrich was a monster offensively, registering 20 kills and hitting .366. Chloee Kleespies added 17 kills, while Alexis Falzone tallied 10 terminations and three block assists. Carly Townsend was credited with 54 assists while Maurissa Leonard had a match-high dig total of 26.

Quick Hits

• Toledo (8-13, 3-7 MAC) is currently on the outside looking in when looking at the MAC Tournament picture. The top eight teams make the tournament and UT is currently ninth, but just one game in the standings behind Ohio (4-6) and Kent State (4-6).
• Zoe Birnbrich sits second in the conference with a .340 hitting percentage. She has eight matches of at least 15 kills and she has hit above .400 eight times as well.
• The Rockets are looking to snap a 10-match losing streak to Northern Illinois. The last win over the Huskies came on Oct. 11, 2013 at Savage Arena.
• Elise Wilcox set new career highs in the match against Miami, tallying 12 kills and registering 33 attacks.

Scouting the Opponent
Western Michigan: The Broncos have lost four of their last five matches and are tied with UT at 3-7 in conference play, though one of their wins was against Bowling Green. Toledo won in Kalamazoo earlier this season in five sets. Since conference play started, Rachel Bontrager has averaged 4.58 points/set, fourth-best in the league.

Northern Illinois: NIU swept the Rockets in DeKalb earlier this year and owns a 6-4 MAC record entering the weekend. After winning their first three MAC matches, the Huskies are a much more pedestrian 3-4. Meg Wolowicz and Jori Radtke are the two big offensive weapons for Northern Illinois. The duo has accounted for 66 percent of the team's attacks, with both ranking in the top five in kills per set in conference play.