TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo women's volleyball team (14-7, 7-3 MAC) opened its weekend series against Northern Illinois (13-7, 6-4 MAC) with a three-set sweep on Friday night at Savage Arena.
The Rockets won the first two sets without much resistance, 25-16 and 25-15, but needed a late comeback in the third set to win, 25-22, and complete the sweep.
"We knew we needed that type of effort against a strong NIU team," head coach Jason Oliver said. "I am proud of the mental effort we put into this match. Our defense showed up and our ball control allowed us to get into a good rhythm. We know we'll be in for a battle when we face them again tomorrow."
Toledo held Northern Illinois to a .103 attack percentage in Friday's match. Offensively, Juniors Taylor Alt and Jada Bouyer led the charge with 13 kills and senior Olivia Vance was close behind with 10. Vance and Bouyer had efficient nights, hitting .556 and .423, respectively. Junior Payton Morman tallied her fourth double-double of the year with 39 assists and 16 digs, while senior Ryann Jaqua led all comers with 23 digs.
Toledo and NIU will meet again on Friday at 4:00 p.m. That match will be streamed live on ESPN3.
1st Set (25-16, Toledo)
The Rockets scored the first three points of the match, then the Huskies answered with four points in a row. Toledo responded with a 9-2 run to take a commanding 12-6 early lead, capping the scoring spurt with two kills from senior Sina Uluave and a service ace from Alt. NIU trimmed the deficit to four but would get no closer as Toledo cruised to a 25-16 win in the first set to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Alt ended the first frame with back-to-back kills and ended up with seven terminations in all in the first set.
2nd Set (25-15, Toledo)
Toledo once again got off to a hot start, jumping out to a 10-3 lead in the second stanza. The Rockets' lead in the second set grew to as many as 11, the largest lead for either team of the night, and the final score settled at 25-15 to put them ahead 2-0 in the match. Strong defensively all night long, the second set was Toledo's best defensive showing; UT held Northern Illinois to a -.026 attack percentage.
3rd Set (25-22, Toledo)
The Huskies didn't go down without a fight, taking a 16-14 lead at one point in the third set. Toledo responded with four straight points to take an 18-16 lead, prompting an NIU timeout. The Huskies reacted positively, scoring five of the next seven points to take a late 21-20 lead and put themselves in a position to extend the match. Bouyer stood tall with her team down, however, and tallied back-to-back kills to turn the tide and give Toledo a 22-21 lead. After another NIU timeout, Alt's kill made it a 23-21 ballgame. Bouyer and Alt recorded the 24th and 25th points of the night to end the set and the match and clinch the sweep.
