RADFORD, Va.— The University of Toledo volleyball team wrapped up its weekend at the Radford Invitational, sweeping Norfolk State on Saturday afternoon.
The Rockets hit a season-best .316 on their way to defeating the Spartans. Redshirt freshman
Liz Beasley had a match-high seven kills and hit .538. Senior
Zoe Birnbrich added six kills while hitting .500, and freshman
Ryann Jaqua also had six terminations. Junior
Rhyen Neal led all comers with 16 digs and three service aces.
For the weekend, junior
Chloee Kleespies led Toledo with 2.90 kills/set, Neal had a team-best 3.50 digs/set average, and both Birnbrich and freshman
Olivia Vance averaged 0.75 blocks/set. Jaqua contributed 1.17 kills/set and 2.75 digs/set.
"I'm really proud of the way we played this weekend," head coach
Jason Oliver said. "We were able to produce positive results and win a match on someone else's floor, which isn't an easy thing to do. Winning a tournament like this is something we haven't done in a long time, so overall it was a successful weekend for us."
The Rockets went 3-0 in a weekend tournament for the first time since the 2011 season.
Toledo heads to Wright State next weekend for a tournament featuring the Raiders as well as Western Illinois and Indiana State.
Set 1 (Toledo, 25-17)
Norfolk State started off the day hot and took a 10-5 lead. The Rockets used five straight points to tie it up at 10-10, capitalizing on multiple NSU miscues. Toledo ended up putting together a 14-2 run that put the score at 19-12, and did not look back. Kleespies and junior
Emma Swope both had three kills in the first set.
Set 2 (Toledo, 25-22)
The closest set of the day, Toledo and Norfolk State swapped leads eight times and were entangled in 13 ties scores. The Spartans led as late as 22-21 and appeared to be in position to tie the match at 1-1. The Rockets, though, closed out the game with four straight points to win, 25-22, and take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match. Wilcox registered a kill to bring about set point, then a block off the hands of Birnbrich and Jaqua ended the second set.
Set 3 (Toledo, 25-11)
Toledo saved its most dominant set of the weekend for last, trouncing the Spartans by a score of 25-11. The Rockets hit .464 in the third set and held Norfolk State to a -.040 hitting percentage. UT scored points in bunches, jumping out to an 8-2 lead that quickly grew to double digits.
Liz Beasley tallied five kills in the final frame, with Birnbrich and Jaqua added three apiece.