TOLEDO, Ohio – The University of Toledo women's volleyball team won the first two sets of its Saturday match against Central Michigan but ultimately lost to the Chippewas in five (25-13, 25-20, 20-25, 22-25, 7-15) at Savage Arena.
The Rockets dominated the first set and ended the second set strong to take a 2-0 lead in the match. They led 15-10 in the third set as well, but the Chippewas scored the next five points to even the set and begin their comeback. CMU won the third frame and staved off a Toledo surge in the fourth set to force a fifth, where the Rockets eventually fell 15-7.
Freshman Taylor Alt led Toledo with 16 kills and a career-high 14 digs. Sophomore Liz Beasley added a career-best 14 kills and senior Chloee Kleespies tallied 12 terminations. Sophomore Ryann Jaqua led all comers with 30 digs, her third match this season with at least 30 digs. Classmate Abby Ray registered 18 digs, a career-high total for the Bowling Green, Ohio native. Freshman Payton Morman collected 50 assists for the third time this season, recording 54 helpers on Saturday.
Toledo will play four matches next week, three of them at home. The Rockets host Bowling Green on Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. before heading to Ohio on Wednesday for a 5:00 p.m. match. Toledo will then host Buffalo next weekend, its final two home matches of the season.
1st Set (25-13, Toledo)
The Rockets completely dominated the first set, hitting .538 en route to a 25-13 win. They scored the first five points of the match and took an early 8-1 lead to take control of the first set. The Toledo lead quickly grew to double digits at 15-5, and Central Michigan never got much closer than that for the rest of the initial stanza. Liz Beasley had five kills in the first set.
2nd Set (25-20, Toledo)
Central Michigan grabbed the lead for the first time early in the second frame, and led as late as 17-16, putting itself in good position to tie the match at 1-1. With the score tied at 20-20, Liz Beasley's kill gave the Rockets the lead and was the first of five straight UT points that clinched the second set at 25-20. Beasley's kill was followed by a service ace from Morman, a termination from Alt, and another Beasley kill before a CMU attack error handed Toledo the second set and a 2-0 lead in the match.
3rd Set (25-20, CMU)
The Rockets doubled up the Chippewas by taking a 12-6 lead, and looked to be in a good position with a 15-10 lead in the middle of the set. Central Michigan scored the next five points to tie the set at 15-15, though Toledo was able to reclaim the lead at 20-19. The next six points went the way of the Chippewas however, and CMU was able to win its first set of the afternoon to keep the match going.
4th Set (25-22, CMU)
Central Michigan seized control of the fourth set early, taking an 11-3 lead that eventually grew to 19-7. With a fifth set seeming like an inevitability, Toledo roared back with a 15-5 run to pull within two, 24-22. The final five points of Toledo's scoring surge were all kills, two coming from Beasley, two from redshirt freshman Abby Erickson, and one from Alt. Despite fighting their way back into the fourth set, Toledo surrendered the 25th point that tied the match at 2-2.
5th Set (15-7, CMU)
The Rockets claimed the first point of the fifth set off a kill from Kleespies, and took a 7-6 lead thanks to stellar plays from Erickson. Toledo would not record another point in the match though, as the Chippewas scored the final nine points to win the fifth set 15-7 and take the match.
