TOLEDO, Ohio— The University of Toledo volleyball team fell to Western Michigan on Friday night in three sets at Savage Arena.

The Rockets were right there with the Broncos in all three sets, but WMU was able to pull away each time to come away with the victory. It was a back-and-forth affair, with the two teams fighting to 39 tie scores and 15 lead changes in three sets.

Junior Chloee Kleespies led the team with 12 kills and hit .300, while senior Zoe Birnbrich added eight terminations and junior Emma Swope tallied six. Sophomore Megan Beasley led all comers with 29 assists, and junior Rhyen Neal contributed a team-high 11 digs.

Toledo hosts Northern Illinois on Saturday night at 8:00 p.m.

Set 1 (WMU, 25-19)
The first set was WMU's most successful of the night; the Broncos hit .429 to win, 25-19. Toledo actually led for much of the first frame, and held a two-point advantage as late as 16-14. But Western Michigan put the pedal to the metal from that point on, scoring 11 of the next 14 points to win by six and take a 1-0 lead in the match. WMU's Rachel Bontrager tallied six of her match-high 14 kills in the first set.

Set 2 (WMU, 26-24)
Toledo put itself in a good position early, taking a 14-10 lead over the Broncos. Western Michigan tallied the next five points to jump ahead, 15-14, before four straight scores from the Rockets to put them ahead, 18-15. The pendulum swung again in the direction of WMU, which scored four consecutive points to take a one point lead, 19-18. The Rockets and Broncos battled it out to the end until, with the score tied at 24-24, Western Michigan registered the final two points to win, 26-24, and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Set 3 (WMU, 25-21)
Once again, Toledo put itself in a good position to win a set when it took a 19-16 lead over Western Michigan. Just like in the first set, though, the Broncos flipped a switch to surge ahead and snatch a win from the Rockets. WMU ended the night on a 9-2 run to win, 25-21, and win the match in three sets.