TOLEDO, Ohio – The University of Toledo women's volleyball team opens the 2021 regular season this weekend at a tournament hosted by Virginia Tech.

The Rockets will play Elon at 10:00 a.m. on Friday before facing the Hokies later that night at 7:00 p.m. The weekend will conclude on Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. contest against Lehigh. Friday night's match against Virginia Tech will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.

Last Year in Review
Toledo played an abbreviated, conference-only schedule last winter and posted a record of 6-14. Taylor Alt earned First-Team All-MAC honors as a freshman, posting 3.87 kills/set in one of the best offensive seasons by a Rocket in many years. Ryann Jaqua, in her first season as a defensive specialist/libero, averaged 4.77 digs/set, fifth-most in a season in school history. Toledo was one of the most imposing defensive teams in the MAC last season, averaging a school-record 2.37 blocks/set.

New Faces
Toledo welcomes four newcomers to the roster this season. Freshmen Anna Alford, Elaine Redman, and Elena Wagoner join Wichita State transfer Sina Uluave as the newest Rockets on the volleyball team.

Quick Hits

• Taylor Alt earned Preseason All-MAC West honors after her stellar freshman campaign. Alt ranked third in the MAC in kills/set (3.87) and scoring (4.40 points/set), leading freshmen in both categories.
• Toledo's record-breaking blocking numbers were majorly influenced by the play of Olivia Vance, who ranked ninth in the league in that category (0.97 blocks/set) and had six matches with at least five blocks.
• In her first season as a defensive specialist/libero, Ryann Jaqua posted five 30-plus dig performances, including 38 at Akron (March 27), tied for third-most in school history.
• Rhyen Neal will be back for a fifth season in 2021 after serving as a lynchpin in the back row for the Rockets since her arrival. Neal has not missed a match in her career and has played in 321 straight sets dating back to Oct. 21, 2017 of her freshman year.

About Elon
Elon went 5-5 last season and returns 13 players off last year's roster. That includes Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Preseason Player of the Year Leah Daniel and preseason all-conference honoree Jordan Gower. Daniel was the CAA Player of the Year last season, leading the league in kills (4.43/set) and scoring (4.76 points/set) and was also an AVCA All-American. Gower was an all-conference performer last year as well, averaging 5.08 digs/set to rank second in the conference.

About Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech went 6-11 last season, playing 16 of its 17 matches against conference opponents. The Hokies played a split schedule, with nine matches in the fall and the rest being played in the sp­­ring. They'll welcome 10 newcomers to Blacksburg this season and return several key contributors including libero Logan Mosley (3.37 digs/set) and middle blocker Angel Robinson (0.95 blocks/set).

About Lehigh
Lehigh posted a 3-6 record last year while playing an conference-only schedule. Two former All-Patriot League honorees lead the Mountain Hawks into 2021 in Sabrina Lancaster and Hannah Wright. A senior outside hitter, Lancaster was a second-team all-conference honoree last season who averaged 3.43 kills/set. Wright, a right-side hitter who earned all-league distinctions as a junior in 2019, finished second on the team in kills (3.16/set) and fourth in digs (2.22/set).­­