TOLEDO, Ohio — The University of Toledo volleyball team opened up conference play on Thursday night, falling to Ball State at home in three sets.

Two Rockets reached double figures in kills against the Cardinals. Junior Chloee Kleespies tallied a match-high 11 terminations and senior Zoe Birnbrich added 10. Junior Rhyen Neal led Toledo with 15 digs and freshman Ryann Jaqua contributed 11 digs. The match was Toledo's first at home since its season-opening tournament on Aug. 30-31.

The Rockets will visit Buffalo on Saturday for their first road conference match of the year. Saturday's contest is scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m.

Set 1 (Ball State, 25-19)
The Cardinals started the night off hot, jumping out to an 8-2 lead over the Rockets. Toledo made a valiant comeback attempt though to pull within one, 11-10, thanks to some strong plays from Birnbrich. The Rockets were able to tie the score at 15-15 on a block off the hands of sophomore Elise Wilcox and freshman Olivia Vance, but they couldn't wrestle the lead back from Ball State. The Cardinals finished out the set on a 10-4 run to win, 25-19.

Set 2 (Ball State, 25-15)
Toledo led as late as 9-8 in the second set, but Ball State flipped a switch and ended the frame on a 17-6 run to cruise to a 25-15 win. The Cardinals hit .344 in the second set, their best of the night. The most dominant stretch came when Ball State scored 12 of 14 points to turn a manageable two-point deficit for the Rockets into an 11-point chasm.

Set 3 (Ball State, 25-22)
The third set was the closest of the night in terms of the final score, though Toledo only led once, after taking a 1-0 lead on a kill from Birnbrich. Ball State doubled up the Rockets at one point, taking a 12-6 advantage and didn't look back from there. The Rockets didn't go down without a fight; trailing 23-17, they rattled off four straight points to pull within two, 23-21. They were unable to get over the hump, though, and Ball State ended up winning 25-22 to take the match in three sets.


Highlights from Toledo's match against Ball State.