TOLEDO, Ohio – The University of Toledo women's volleyball team hosted Miami on Friday night, falling to the RedHawks in four sets.
The Rockets (16-8, 7-5 MAC) won the second set to tie the match at 1-1, but Miami (6-16, 4-8 MAC) won a long third set to go up 2-1 and controlled the fourth set from start to finish.
Junior Sina Uluave recorded her eighth double-double of the season, collecting 17 kills and 13 digs while adding three blocks. Junior Olivia Vance led Toledo with five blocks and had 10 kills as well, her fourth match with double-digit kills this season. Senior Rhyen Neal had a team-high 20 digs, and sophomore Taylor Alt added a season-best 15 digs.
The Rockets return to the court Saturday night at 6:00 p.m. against Bowling Green. The Battle of I-75 matchup can be seen on ESPN3.
1st Set (25-15, Miami)
The first half of the first set was actually quite close, and the Rockets held an 11-10 lead over the RedHawks at one point. A switch flipped for Miami though, and it would go on to score 15 of the next 19 points to surprisingly win the first set by double digits. Fueled by their late surge, the RedHawks hit .310 in the first set, the highest for either team on the night.
2nd Set (25-19, Toledo)
Toledo led wire-to-wire in the second set, winning to tie the match at 1-1. Alt started off the set with an ace and things only got better from there, as the Rockets' lead would grow to five at 13-8. Miami used a timeout to collect itself and closed the gap a bit to 15-13, but Toledo rattled off the next four points to take its largest lead of the night, 19-13. After the RedHawks once again pulled within two, Toledo scored the final four points of the second set to win 25-19. Uluave led the way with five kills while Vance added three terminations and two blocks.
3rd Set (27-25, Miami)
The third set started off well for the Rockets, who scored the first three points to take an early lead. Miami took its first lead at 8-7 and held on for a bit, until a 7-1 run for the Midnight Blue and Gold gave them a 20-16 lead, putting themselves in a good position to go up 2-1. But the RedHawks had other ideas, storming back and pushing the Rockets to the brink at 24-23. A Miami service error kept Toledo alive, and a kill from Vance put the score at 25-25. But the RedHawks scored the final two points to win 27-25 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
4th Set (25-17, Miami)
The fourth set was never really in doubt, as the RedHawks were able to build a double-digit lead at 17-7 and never looked back. The Miami lead grew to as many as 11 at 20-9, but the final score would settle at 25-17.
