ATHENS, Ohio – The University of Toledo women's volleyball team visited Ohio on Wednesday night and fell to the Bobcats in five sets (25-22, 19-25, 25-22, 21-25, 4-15)
The Rockets won the first and third sets by identical scores, but after losing the second and fourth sets they were stifled in the fifth frame by the Bobcats' offensive attack. OU hit .615 in the fifth set to emphatically clinch Wednesday's match.
Sophomore Olivia Vance led Toledo offensively, tallying a career-high 19 kills and hitting .486 while contributing three blocks. Senior Chloee Kleespies added 11 kills and three blocks, while sophomore Ryann Jaqua led the Rockets with 24 digs.
Toledo hosts Buffalo this weekend in its final two home matches of the year.
1st Set (25-22, Toledo)
Toledo scored seven of the first 10 points of the match to take a quick lead over Ohio. The Bobcats, however, scored the next four to tie the score at 7-7. The pendulum swung in the Rockets' direction thanks to an 8-3 run that gave them a 15-10 lead. Toledo would not trail for the rest of the set, though the lead would dwindle to one point very late in the action. Two straight kills from Ohio's Mariana Rodrigues made it 23-22, but Alt scored to bring about set point and an OU attack error handed the Rockets the first set.
2nd Set (25-19, Ohio)
The only time Toledo led in the second set was when it took a 2-1 lead very early on. The bobcats scored the next four points to go up 5-2 and did not look back. They led by as many as six, 17-11, but following a UT timeout the Rockets scored four straight points to pull within two, 17-15. Toledo kept the deficit manageable at 20-18, but Ohio scored five of the final six points of the set to win 25-19 and even the match.
3rd Set (25-22, Toledo)
The Rockets started the third set well, doubling up the Bobcats early to take an 8-4 lead. Toledo looked to be well on its way to a comfortable victory, leading 24-17, but Ohio scored the next five points to pull within two, 24-22. Freshman Taylor Alt came to the rescue with the kill to clinch the third set for the Midnight Blue and Gold and five them a 2-1 lead in the match. Vance wad a terrific third set, collecting eight kills on 12 attempts with no errors.
4th Set (25-21, Ohio)
Ohio started off well, scoring five of the first six points. Toledo would fight its way back though to take a lead at 10-9, thanks in part to a 5-0 run that was capped by a block from Kleespies and sophomore Rhyenne Filisi. Both teams wrestled for the lead for much of the fourth frame, but Ohio moved ahead by three, 20-17, with a 6-2 run. Toledo scored the next two points to pull within one, but wouldn't get any closer as the Bobcats won to force a fifth set.
5th Set (15-4, Ohio)
The fifth set was never particularly close, as Ohio took a 5-0 lead to start things off and scored seven of the final eight points to cruise to a 15-4 win. The Bobcats hit .613 in the final frame and Rodrigues contributed four of her 26 kills in the last set of the night.
