BUFFALO, N.Y. – The University of Toledo women's volleyball team won at Buffalo on Friday night, toppling the Bulls in three sets.
The Rockets (13-4, 4-1 MAC) have now won four straight matches, all three-set decisions. This is now Toledo's best start in program history, besting the 2004 team's 12-5 record at the same point in the season.
"We really came out and played Rocket volleyball," head coach Jason Oliver said. "Our serve and pass was great, and our offense was clicking on all cylinders. Buffalo is a tough team and this is a tough place to play. I am proud of our team's effort tonight."
Toledo was dominant offensively on Friday night, hitting a season-best .385 against Buffalo (9-8, 2-3 MAC), its highest attack percentage since 2019 (.394 vs. Western Illinois, Sept. 13). Sophomore Taylor Alt had a match-high 14 kills while hitting .423, and junior Sina Uluave hit .435 with 11 terminations. Freshman Elaine Redman contributed 32 assists and registered five kills on eight attempts, and reigning MAC West Defensive Player of the Week Ryann Jaqua had 19 digs.
The Rockets will head to Akron on Saturday to face the Zips at 4:00 p.m.
1st Set (25-21, Toledo)
Both teams hit exceptionally well in the first set, with Toledo attacking at a .457 clip and Buffalo hitting .364. The Bulls actually scored the first three points of the night, but the Rockets rattled off four straight kills to make it 4-3. UT and UB battled back and forth in the first until, with the score tied at 18-18, Toledo began to pull away. Three straight points made it 21-18, Uluave would capture the 25th point on the Rockets' 20th kill of the first set to put her team ahead 1-0.
2nd Set (25-12, Toledo)
In the most lopsided set of the night, the Rockets hit .393 while holding the Bulls to a .071 attack percentage. Toledo took the lead for good when a kill from Alt made the score 7-6, a play that would jumpstart a 10-2 run that eventually brought the score to 16-8. Alt's strong play continued as she would tally the final two UT points of the second set and help put her team ahead 2-0 in the match.
3rd Set (25-15, Toledo)
Toledo led wire-to-wire in the third set after a kill from sophomore Rachel Pierce kicked things off. Both teams recorded their lowest attack percentage of the match in the third set, though Toledo still hit a strong .303 compared to Buffalo's paltry .062. Junior Rhyenne Filisi added a kill and three blocks in the final frame of Toledo's victory, and Uluave notched the final point of the night with her 11th kill to wrap things up against the Bulls.
