TOLEDO, Ohio – The University of Toledo women's volleyball team swept Kent State on Friday night to kick off its weekend, improving to 11-4 on the season and 2-1 in MAC play.
"We talked all week about starting the weekend strong," head coach Jason Oliver said. "We started it with a strong serving and passing win. We know that Kent State is a great team and our serve and pass really held us in the second set and ultimately took Kent out of what they wanted to do. We are all prepared to see a much cleaner match tomorrow and know that it will be a battle."
Both teams hit under .100 on the night, but the Rockets were able to get 10 points from service aces and out-blocked the Golden Flashes 11-6. Junior Sina Uluave led all players with 11 kills on the night, while classmate Olivia Vance added five kills and five blocks. Junior Rhyenne Filisi and freshman Elaine Redman had identical offensive stat lines, registering five kills and four blocks apiece. Redman also led all comers with 25 assists. Junior Ryann Jaqua recorded a match-high 28 digs and three service aces.
Toledo and Kent State will return to the court on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. on ESPN3.
1st Set (Toledo, 25-18)
Kent State led early at 9-7, but Toledo scored six of the next seven points to move ahead 13-10 and take the lead for good. The 6-1 run was capped by a service ace from Jaqua, the first of three Rocket aces in the first set. Jaqua would have another one to bring about set point, making the score 24-18, then a Kent State attack error ended the set and put Toledo ahead 1-0 in the match.
2nd Set (Toledo, 26-24)
Toledo found itself in a bit of trouble late, trailing Kent State 22-18. The Rockets were able to claw their way back though, tying the score at 23-23. After a kill from Filisi and an error on the Golden Flashes, sophomore Claire Eiden's service ace tied the set and gave new life to the Midnight Blue and Gold. A kill from Kent State's Kiersten Kraus put her team in a position to tie the match at 1-1, but Toledo captured the next three points to win 26-24. A block off the hands of Uluave and Vance tied the score at 24-24, then a kill from Uluave put Toledo ahead 25-24 before Vance delivered the final blow.
3rd Set (Toledo, 25-16)
Kent State took a 4-0 lead early in the third set, but the Rockets didn't stay down for long. The next six points went the way of Toledo, with Redman accounting for four of them (three service aces, one kill) to make it 6-4. The Golden Flashes tied it up at 6-6, but a service error gave Toledo a 7-6 lead it would not relinquish. With the score at 15-14, the Rockets rattled off six straight points to make it 21-14 and all but seal the deal in the three-set sweep. Filisi's kill ended the night with an exclamation point, capping a 25-16 third set win.
