TOLEDO, Ohio – The University of Toledo women's volleyball team is heading to its first-ever postseason tournament this week and will face Indiana State on Thursday, Dec. 2 at 5:00 p.m. in the first round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).

The Rockets and Sycamores will face off at Valparaiso, and their match will be followed by a contest between the host Beacons and Butler. The winners of these two matches will play each other in the second round on Friday, Dec. 3 at 7:00 p.m. at the Athletics-Recreation Center (ARC) on Valpo's campus. All matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.

2021 NIVC
After stepping aside last year because of COVID-19 concerns, the National Invitational Volleyball Championship is back, with tournament officials announcing Sunday the 31 teams that will make up the field, along with first-round locations, matchups and game times.

This is the fourth edition of the NIVC since its reboot through Triple Crown Sports; the event previously ran from 1989-95. Previous champions of the current NIVC are Georgia Tech (2019), Iowa State (2018) and Ole Miss (2017).

The 2021 NIVC features Round 1 and 2 action from Dec. 2-5, with Round 3 scheduled for Dec. 6-8. The semifinals will be held Dec. 8-11, and the championship match be played Dec. 12-14.

Toledo's 2021 Season at a Glance

• Toledo is 19-12 entering Thursday's match against Indiana State.
• The 2021 season has featured plenty of highlights for the Rockets. They started the year off 13-4, which is the best start in program history, besting the 2004 team's 12-5 record through the same point of the season.
• This is the first postseason tournament in program history for Toledo in its 42^nd year of volleyball.
• Three Rockets earned postseason honors: Taylor Alt was named First-Team All-MAC, Sina Uluave was named Second-Team All-MAC, and Elaine Redman was named to the All-Freshman Team.
• Toledo's appearance in the MAC Tournament was its first since 2016.

 
Quick Hits

• The Rockets have broken the program record in both total blocks and blocks/set this season, tallying 268.5 total blocks and averaging 2.42/set. The total blocks record had stood since 1987, and the blocks/set record was held by last season's team.
• Toledo is hitting .210 as a team this season, which is close to breaking the program's attack percentage record of .211, set in 1992.
• Five Rockets are on pace to put themselves in rarified air in program history:
  • Taylor Alt has 450 kills and is averaging 4.09/set. Her kills/set average is the third-highest by a player in school history, and she is the fifth player ever to average at least four kills per set in a season. Alt's 450 kills rank fourth all-time in a single season.
  • Rhyen Neal enters the NIVC with 1,401 digs, which puts her in fifth place all-time in school history.
  • Rhyenne Filisi (1.04) and Olivia Vance (1.00) are averaging at least one block per set. Filisi's figure is the sixth-best in a single season in school history and Vance now ranks tied for ninth in program history.
  • Ryann Jaqua is averaging 4.17 digs/set this season, which is the 10th-best figure in school history.
• Toledo's 19 victories are tied for the most since 2013, when UT went 19-12 on its way to finishing in a tie atop the MAC West Division.
• Taylor Alt is second in the MAC in kills/set, averaging 4.09. She is one of two players in the MAC averaging at least four kills per set, and she ranks tied for fifth among all underclassmen in Division I in that category.
• The Rockets are holding opponents to a .170 attack percentage, which ranks atop the MAC. Toledo also leads the league in service aces (1.59/set).

About Indiana State
Indiana State owns a record of 18-12 with a 9-9 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play. The Sycamores won a game in the MVC Tournament before falling to No. 2 seed Illinois State in the semis. Senior middle blocker Madeline Williams earned second-team all-conference honors last month.