Kent, Ohio — The University of Toledo volleyball team dropped its Friday night match at Kent State in five sets.
The Rockets won the second and third sets to take a 2-1 lead in the match, but dropped the fourth and decisive fifth frames to end up on the wrong end of a five set decision.
Junior Rhyen Neal led the team with a career-high 29 digs and five service aces. Four Rockets reached double figures in kills: freshman Ryann Jaqua (12), senior Zoe Birnbrich (11), and juniors Chloee Kleespies (10) and Emma Swope (10).
Toledo visits Ohio on Saturday night at 6:00.
Set 1 (Kent State, 25-22)
Toledo took an 8-6 lead over Kent State, then put the pedal to the metal and scored seven straight points to build a 15-6 lead. Neal was terrific during the Rockets' scoring spurt, tallying three service to aid the cause. Kent State roared back from the nine-point deficit, though, to win 25-22 and take a 1-0 lead in the match. Toledo led 22-17 at one point, but the Golden Flashes scored eight straight to reach 25 points first. Neal had eight digs in the first set.
Set 2 (Toledo, 25-14)
The second set started the same way as the first. Toledo took an early lead and used a lengthy scoring run to extend that lead. This time, the Rockets used six straight points to make the score 12-5 in the second frame. It went much differently than that first set, with the Toledo pulling away to cruise to a 25-14 win to tie the match at 1-1. The Rockets held KSU to a .100 hitting percentage in the second set and tallied five service aces.
Set 3 (Toledo, 25-21)
Toledo used an 8-1 run to take a 12-7 lead, but the Golden Flashes hung around for much of the third set. They cut the UT lead to two, 16-14, but the Rockets used a 6-1 run to move ahead, 22-15. Kent State tried to mount another comeback like it did in the first set, but was unsuccessful this time. With the score at 23-21, Birnbrich's kill brought about set point and a KSU error gave Toledo the set and a 2-1 lead in the match.
Set 4 (Kent State, 25-16)
The Golden Flashes led wire-to-wire in the fourth set, eventually winning 25-16 to force a fifth frame. They hit a match-high .400 on their way to tying the match at 2-2. Kent State took an 8-1 lead to start things off. Toledo got as close as four, 13-9, but could not get any closer in the fourth set.
Set 5 (Kent State, 15-10)
Kent State grabbed the lead early and didn't look back. The last time Toledo held a share of the lead was at 5-5, and the final score of the set ended up at 15-10.
