TOLEDO, Ohio — The University of Toledo women's volleyball team opens its regular season this weekend with the Blue and Gold Tournament at Savage Arena.

The Rockets are hosting Loyola, North Dakota State, and Western Kentucky for a weekend of volleyball featuring six matches.

All six contests will be streamed live on ESPN+. Links for streams and live stats are available below. Updates for Toledo matches will also be available on Twitter at @Toledo_VB.

Friday
Western Kentucky vs. Loyola, 4:30 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch
Toledo vs. North Dakota State, 7:00 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch

Saturday
Loyola vs. North Dakota State, 10:00 a.m. | Live Stats | Watch
Toledo vs. Western Kentucky, 12:00 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch
North Dakota State vs. Western Kentucky, 4:30 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch
Toledo vs. Loyola, 7:00 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch

Quick Hits

• Toledo returns seven letterwinners from 2018's squad, including All-MAC honoree Zoe Birnbrich. The Dublin, Ohio native was named to the MAC's Preseason All-West Division Team.
• The Rockets will feature six newcomers this season: Jada Bouyer, Abby Erickson, Ryann Jaqua, Rachel Pierce, Abby Ray, and Olivia Vance.
• Birnbrich hit .329 last season, the third-highest single-season hitting percentage in program history. Her .294 career hitting percentage also ranks third in Toledo history.
• Chloee Kleespies averaged 3.13 kills/set last season, best on the team.
• Rhyen Neal will take over at the Rockets' libero this year. Last season, she averaged 2.47 digs/set, best among returning players.

 
Scouting the Opponent
Loyola: The Ramblers were picked to finish fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference this season after posting a 16-14 record a year ago. The roster features seven freshmen and seven seniors, led by outside hitter Quinn Spieker (2.96 kills/set in 2018), middle hitter Heather Kocken (2.14 kills/set, 1.03 blocks/set), and setter Delilah Wold (10.67 assists/set).

North Dakota State: The Bison went 9-20 in 2018 and were picked to finish seventh this year in the Summit League's preseason poll. Outside hitter Alexis Bachmeier and middle hitter Emily Halverson were named to the league's preseason "Players to Watch" list. Bachmeier averaged 2.26 kills/set and 2.89 digs/set last year, while Halverson averaged 0.95 blocks/set.

Western Kentucky: The Hilltoppers return five starters and eight overall letterwinners from a 2018 squad that went 20-10.  WKU was predicted to finish third in the Conference-USA preseason poll, and the team also had two players on the preseason All-Conference team. Senior Sophia Cerino was a second-team all-conference selection in 2018, averaging 2.47 kills/set and 0.38 service aces/set. Sophomore Lauren Matthews was a C-USA All-Freshman team selection last year after hitting .278 while averaging 0.78 blocks/set and 2.55 kills/set.