Peoria, Ill. — The University of Toledo women's volleyball team notched its first win of the season on Saturday, a 3-0 victory over Western Illinois. The Rockets lost to Bradley, 3-0, earlier in the day.

Zoe Birnbrich was excellent in the win over WIU, recording 13 kills and hitting .579. Emma Swope tallied 11 kills and Alexis Falzone had eight. Carly Townsend had 33 assists and Andrea Stephenson led the team with 18 digs. Birnbrich's seven kills in the third set helped the Rockets seal the deal and take down the Leathernecks. With the win, Jason Oliver earns his first victory as the Rockets' head coach.

UT lost its first match of the day to Bradley in straight sets. Swope was the lone Rocket to tally double-digit kills (10) and Chloee Kleespies was next with eight. Carly Townsend was credited with 22 assists and 15 digs, while Toledo's new career digs leader Maurissa Leonard added 23 to her total.

Toledo will come home next weekend for the Blue and Gold Invitational. The Rockets will host Duquesne, Manhattan, and Morehead State during the weekend tournament. More information will be available this week.

Match one: Bradley 3, Toledo 0

Set 1
Bradley started off the match by scoring five of the first six points and did not slow down until it won the first set 25-15. The Rockets did close the gap to four, 14-10, but that's the closest they'd get. The Braves scored eight of the final 11 points to cruise to a first-set victory and take a 1-0 lead in the match.

Set 2
This time it was Toledo's turn to take an early lead. UT was out in front of BU, 6-2, thanks to the offensive exploits of Birnbrich, Kleespies, and Haley Sendelbach. But Bradley continued to score in bunches; the Braves scored three points in a row three times in the second set and closed it out by scoring four in a row. UT actually tied the game at 21-21, but four straight Bradley points sealed the deal and put the Rockets in a 2-0 hole.

Set 3
Toledo took a 5-1 lead to start the third set thanks to four attack errors from Bradley's front row. The Rockets would then surrender seven consecutive points, giving the Braves an 8-5 advantage. BU held a steady lead all the way until the score was 23-19. Then, with their backs against the wall, the Midnight Blue and Gold stormed back to tie the third set at 24-24, then 25-25 thanks to clutch kills from Swope and Townsend. However, despite needing the extra time, Bradley still managed to come out on top and complete the sweep.

Match two: Toledo 3, Western Illinois 0

Set 1
Both teams were neck and neck to start the match, with six tie scores occurring between the opening serve and when the scoreboard read 9-9. Back-to-back kills from Falzone and Swope gave the Rockets a two-point lead, though, and they would not relinquish that advantage the rest of the frame. Kleespies and Swope combined for nine kills in the first set as UT cruised to a 25-18 win.

Set 2
Set two was more of the same for the Rockets, who won 25-15 to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match. UT hit .341 compared to the Leathernecks' .125 and rode the offensive contributions of Falzone and Swope to victory. Toledo scored the first point of the set and did not trail at any point. UT scored eight of the final 10 points to put itself in the driver's seat.

Set 3
Despite the final score being closer, the final set of the match featured just one tie score and no lead changes. Rhyen Neal scored the first point with a service ace and, after a kill from QIU's Melanie Patenaude, Toledo scored the next six points to take a 7-1 lead. Western Illinois did pull within one point, 11-10, but would not get any closer. Falzone closed out the match with an emphatic termination to seal the Rockets' first victory of 2018.