DEKALB, Ill. – The University of Toledo women's volleyball team bounced back to defeat Northern Illinois in three sets on Saturday.
 
After falling to the Huskies (10-11, 4-7 MAC) on Friday night, the Rockets (16-7, 7-4 MAC) came back on Saturday to sweep NIU in straight sets. Toledo hit .295 in the victory while holding Northern Illinois to a paltry .125 attack percentage.
 
The Rockets tallied 11 blocks, giving them 24 for the weekend in DeKalb. Juniors Rhyenne Filisi (six) and Olivia Vance (five) and sophomore Jada Bouyer (four) led the way defensively for Toledo on Saturday. Sophomore Taylor Alt had a team-best 13 kills, while Vance and Filisi both added eight terminations.
 
Toledo returns home next weekend for a pair of matches against MAC East foes. The Rockets host Miami on Friday night at 6:00 before welcoming arch-rival Bowling Green on Saturday at 6:00.
 
1^st Set (25-21, Toledo)
 
The Rockets came out strong to start the match, jumping out to a 7-3 lead. The only time UT did not fully control the lead was after NIU scored to make it 1-1, but after Filisi's kill put the score at 2-1 Toledo did not trail for the remainder of the set. The Rockets ended up winning 25-21 to take a 1-0 lead in the match, fueled by offensive contributions from Alt (six kills), Bouyer (three kills), and Uluave (three kills).
 
2^nd  Set (25-21, Toledo)
 
Toledo again started off strong, scoring the first four points of the second set. NIU fought back this time by scoring five of the next six points to make it 5-5, and the Huskies would tie it up again later at 13-13. But the Midnight Blue and Gold rattled off four straight points to push the ledger to 17-13, and they would control the lead for the remainder of the second stanza. Filisi's emphatic kill provided the 25^th point and put Toledo ahead 2-0 in the match.
 
3^rd Set (25-17, Toledo)
 
Northern Illinois scored the first point of the third set, which marked its first lead of the entire match. The Huskies led for much of the early stages of the set, until a 7-0 Toledo scoring run turned a two-point UT deficit into a five-point lead. The Rockets' lead grew to as many as nine, 22-13, they would eventually win 25-17 to complete the three-set sweep. Six of Toledo's 11 blocks came in the third set, and big contributions from Bouyer (four kills, three blocks) and FIlisi (four kills, four blocks) fueled the Rockets' strong finish.