TOLEDO, Ohio – The University of Toledo women's volleyball team defeated Eastern Michigan in three sets on Friday night in Savage Arena.
The Rockets (17-9, 8-6 MAC) outhit the Eagles (9-16, 4-10 MAC), .272 to .120, and leaned on excellent play from a pair of juniors to capture Friday's victory.
Olivia Vance and Sina Uluave both led Toledo with 12 kills and both did so efficiently, hitting .556 and .308, respectively. Vance also added a match-high four blocks to help the cause. Senior Rhyen Neal (11) and sophomore Taylor Alt (10) both reached double digits in digs, and freshman Elaine Redman led all comers with 38 assists.
Toledo and Eastern Michigan will meet again on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. Following the match, the Rockets will recognize seniors Liz Beasley, Megan Beasley, and Maddie Fogg.
1st Set (25-20, Toledo)
Both teams jockeyed for the lead early on, trading blows and neither taking a lead of more than two. The first time either side led by at least three points was late in the set, when Toledo scored three straight points to go ahead 21-18. All three points were courtesy of Uluave; her kill broke the tie and made it 19-18, then back-to-back aces put her team up by three and caused Eastern Michigan to use a timeout. The Eagles scored two straight points out of the break to pull within one, 21-20, but Toledo tallied the next four to win 25-20 and take a 1-0 lead in the match. Vance had five kills on five attacks with no errors in the first frame.
2nd Set (25-16, Toledo)
Alt started the second set off with a kill, then a UT attack error tied the score at 1-1. That would be the only time Eastern Michigan would hold a share of the lead in the second set, as the Rockets scored the next six points to take an early 7-1 lead. EMU was unable to put a meaningful dent into Toledo's lead, which grew to double digits at 20-10. The Rockets would eventually win by nine, 25-16, to take a 2-0 lead in the match. Toledo held Eastern Michigan to a .000 attack percentage in the second set.
3rd Set (25-22, Toledo)
The third set was Eastern Michigan's best chance to take a set from Toledo all night. Trailing 6-4, the Eagles scored five straight to take a three-point lead, 9-6, and grew their lead to five at 16-11. UT scored seven of the next eight points to take an 18-17 lead, but Eastern Michigan would not go away. EMU held a share of the lead as late as 22-22, but the next three points went the way of the Rockets, who would win 25-22 to complete the Friday night sweep.
