Toledo, Ohio— The University of Toledo women's volleyball team had two matches on Saturday and won them both, defeating Duquesne, 3-1, and Manhattan, 3-0, at the Blue & Gold Invitational in Savage Arena. The Rockets finished the tournament with a record of 2-1.
Chloee Kleespies and
Carly Townsend represented UT on the all-tournament team.
Zoe Birnbrich was terrific against the Dukes, tallying 14 kills and four blocks while hitting .542. The junior was outstanding in the third set, accounting for eight kills without any attack errors. Kleespies had a team-high 16 kills and Townsend was credited with 48 assists.
Maurissa Leonard had a match-high 32 digs while teammates
Caleigh Barhorst (14) and
Andrea Stephenson (10) both cracked double-digits too. In her first collegiate match,
Elise Wilcox registered eight kills, four of which came in the final set of the match.
In the second match of the day, four Rockets had at least seven kills: Birnbrich (nine), Townsend (eight), Kleespies (seven), and Wilcox (seven). Townsend also registered 23 assists, while Leonard and Neal were credited with 13 and 10 digs, respectively. As a team, Toledo hit .257 against the Jaspers.
Prior to the match against Manhattan, Leonard was recognized for recently breaking the program's career digs record. She was presented with a commemorative ball by former UT volleyball player and career digs record holder Lora Sarich, who is the head coach of the Jaspers.
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The Rockets' final regular season tournament is next weekend in Richmond, Va. when they travel to VCU to face the Rams as well as South Carolina and Virginia.
Toledo 3, Duquesne 1
Set 1 (UT 25, DUQ 21)
UT was able to win set one to take an early 1-0 lead in the match. The Rockets hit .317 in the first frame, the highest mark of the match for them. Falzone and Kleespies both tallied four kills apiece and Leonard registered 10 digs. The two teams were neck and neck from the very start as neither team was able to grab a three-point lead for more than just one rally. It was the Rockets, though, who scored five of the final six points of the set to pull away and win, 25-21.
Set 2 (DUQ 25, UT 16)
Set two was all Duquesne. The Dukes scored seven of nine points and took an 11-5 advantage and never relented. Toledo had its lowest hitting percentage of the match in the second set (.086) while Duquesne had its highest (.361). DU's Maddie Bazelak recorded seven kills in the second frame, more than any other teammate had in a set today.
Set 3 (UT 26, DUQ 24)
Set three was the most back-and-forth of the afternoon, featuring 10 ties and seven lead changes. Neither team was able to pull away much until Toledo scored four in a row to take a 14-10 lead, thanks in part to a pair of kills from Birnbrich. Toledo appeared to be in control when it held a 24-18 lead, but Duquesne provided quite a scare, scoring six straight points to tie the set at 24-24. The Rockets pulled through, though, with consecutive kills from Kleespies to close out the set and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Set 4 (UT 25, DUQ 18)
The final set of the day was never really in doubt for Toledo. The Rockets scored the first five points and never looked back. After four straight points UT led 20-13, though the Dukes did score five in a row to pull within two, 20-18. But Toledo stood tall, scoring the final five points of the match to cruise to its first home victory of the season.
Toledo 3, Manhattan 0
Set 1 (UT 25, MAN 22)
The first set was also the closest of the night; 11 ties and six lead changes occurred and the Rockets didn't have the set in hand until the 25th point was scored. Birnbrich and
Emma Swope started the match off with back-to-back kills. The two teams fought back and forth for much of the frame and the Jaspers held a lead as late as 17-16, but a kill from Townsend and a Manhattan attack error gave UT an 18-17 lead. Terminations from Birnbrich and Swope sealed the deal and gave Toledo a 1-0 lead in the match. Birnbrich had six kills in the first set.
Set 2 (UT 25, MAN 16)
The Rockets started off the second frame with a bang when Neal recorded an ace on the first serve. Toledo opened up a 5-2 lead, which grew to 14-8 thanks to the offensive exploits of Townsend and Kleespies, most notably. After taking that six-point lead, the Rockets never trailed by less than four for the remainder of the set, strolling to a 25-16 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
Set 3 (UT 25, MAN 18)
UT once against took an early lead, scoring four of the first five points, which included two straight aces from Leonard. Manhattan would not go down without a fight, though, and opened up a 10-7 lead during a stretch where they scored eight of 10 points. Toledo regained control, though and jumped ahead by four, 18-14. The Jaspers cut their deficit to one, 19-18, but would not get any closer. The Rockets scored the final six points of the match and a kill from Townsend put an exclamation point on a two-win day for the Midnight Blue and Gold.
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