TOLEDO, Ohio – The University of Toledo women's volleyball team fell to Western Michigan in five sets at home on Friday evening, snapping the team's five-match winning streak.
The Rockets' (14-5, 5-2 MAC) won the first two sets against the Broncos (14-5, 7-1 MAC), but couldn't close the deal and ended up on the wrong end of a five-set decision.
Junior Ryann Jaqua achieved an impressive milestone, cracking 1,000 career digs and becoming the 16th player in program history to reach that benchmark. The Kalamazoo, Mich. native tallied 23 digs on Friday night.
Sophomore Taylor Alt led all players with a season-high 26 kills, her third career match with at least 25 terminations, while hitting .296. Junior Sina Uluave recorded a double-double with 13 digs and 11 kills, her fourth of the season. Freshman Elaine Redman contributed a season-best 48 assists.
Toledo and Western Michigan will meet again on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. on ESPN3.
1st Set (26-24, Toledo)
The Rockets started the match off well, jumping out to a 10-5 lead. The Broncos, though, hit the gas and went on an 11-3 run to turn a five-point deficit into a three-point lead at 16-13. WMU looked to be in the driver's seat late, leading 21-18, before Toledo surged ahead with six straight points to make the score 24-21. Sophomore Abby Erickson accounted for the first three points on a kill and two blocks, then Uluave notched the next two before a WMU attack error brought about set point. Western Michigan made things interesting by scoring three straight points to make it 24-24, but Alt and Redman tallied back-to-back kills to win the first set.
2nd Set (25-22, Toledo)
In the second set, Toledo would once again have an early lead erased by a Western Michigan scoring run. Leading 15-11, UT surrendered the next five points to fall behind 16-15. The two teams battled back and forth, playing to a 22-22 stalemate before three straight Rocket points won them the second set to put them ahead 2-0 in the match. Junior Rhyenne Filisi and sophomore Rachel Pierce combined on a block to break the tie, then Alt delivered a service ace to bring about set point. Filisi then pounded the ball with authority for a kill and the clinching point. In going up 2-0, Toledo extended its streak to 17 straight sets won, one off tying the school record for most straight sets won (18, 2005).
3rd Set (25-22, Western Michigan)
The Rockets appeared to be in control early, taking an 8-2 lead out of the gate. But the Broncos used an 11-1 run to take a 13-9 lead, and they would not trail for the remainder of the third set. Toledo clawed its way back to tie scores at 19-19 and 20-20, but could not wrestle the lead back in a 25-22 loss in the third set.
4th Set (25-18, Western Michigan)
The fourth set was all WMU, which stunned the Rockets by taking a commanding 16-5 lead. The closest Toledo got after that point was six, as Western Michigan cruised to a 25-18 win in the fourth set that forced a decisive fifth frame.
5th Set (15-9, Western Michigan)
Western Michigan scored the first four points and led wire-to-wire in the fifth set. The Broncos' Maggie King had five kills to lead the way as her team would win 15-9 to take the match.
