VALPARAISO, Ind. – The University of Toledo women's volleyball team defeated Indiana State on Thursday evening in five sets in National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) first-round action at the Athletics-Recreation Center on the campus of Valparaiso University.
The Rockets' (20-12) win over the Sycamores (18-13) is an important one for multiple reasons. Not only does it push them into the second round of the NIVC, it marks the first-ever postseason tournament victory in program history. The win was also Toledo's 20th of the season, just the second time in school history that a UT volleyball team has reached 20 wins.
"We didn't start the way we wanted, but it was a great grind-it-out moment for the team," head coach Jason Oliver said. "We found a way to win and when we got it right we were tough to beat. Now we have to build off this and play cleaner volleyball to advance."
Junior Sina Uluave had an excellent match, notching a double-double with a career-high 20 kills and 13 digs while hitting .350. Freshman Elaine Redman also had a double-double for UT, collecting a career-high 56 assists as well as 12 digs. Redman was also excellent at the service line, tallying a career-best five service aces. Sophomore Taylor Alt added 16 kills, and junior Olivia Vance compiled 10 kills and a team-best five blocks. Senior Rhyen Neal led Toledo with 14 digs.
Toledo will face the winner of Thursday night's Valparaiso vs. Butler match in second-round NIVC action on Friday at 7:00 p.m.
1st Set (25-12, Indiana State)
Toledo started the match off by taking a 5-3 lead, but an 11-1 Indiana State run would push the score to 14-6 in favor of the Sycamores. ISU would go on to hit a staggering .550 in the first set and win 25-12 to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
2nd Set (26-24, Toledo)
The Rockets looked to be in a good position to tie the match at 1-1, taking a 22-18 lead late in the second set, but Indiana State fought back to pull within a point, 23-22. Sophomore Abby Erickson brought about set point with a kill, pushing the score to 24-22, but the Sycamores scored the next two points to tie it up at 24-24. But Toledo was able to hold on, as a kill from Redman would push Indiana State to the brink and a kill off the hand of Alt ended the second set and tied the match at one set apiece. Six of Alt's 16 kills came in the second set.
3rd Set (25-22, Indiana State)
Indiana State took an early 6-2 lead, but four straight points from Toledo tied the score at 6-6. UT would go on to take a 16-14 lead, but the Sycamores then scored the next five points to turn a two-point deficit into a three-point advantage at 19-16. The Rockets could not reclaim the lead for the rest of the set and Indiana State would go on to win, 25-22, to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
4th Set (25-18, Toledo)
Toledo scored the first three points of the fourth set to take a 3-0 lead and did not look back. The lead grew to as many as seven and that would be the final margin of victory for the Midnight Blue and Gold, who would go on to win the fourth set 25-18 and force a decisive fifth frame. Four of Redman's five aces came in the fourth set, and junior Rhyenne Filisi contributed three blocks to help keep Toledo alive.
5th Set (15-5, Toledo)
The fifth set was never really in doubt, as Toledo would score eight of the first 10 points to take a commanding 8-2 lead. The Rockets ended the night emphatically, with back-to-back blocks securing a 15-5 win to clinch the match and send the team on through to the second round of the NIVC.
