OXFORD, Ohio – The Toledo women's volleyball team opened its weekend with a four-set road win over the Miami RedHawks on Friday night.
The Rockets (15-8, 8-4 MAC) dropped the first set and trailed Miami (6-17, 1-11 MAC) early, but bounced back to win the next three sets to clinch the match. Toledo's win at Miami on Friday was its second-ever road win in Oxford, with the last coming in 2006.
"Both teams were special tonight offensively," head coach Jason Oliver said. "Hats off to Miami, they came to play tonight. It was great to see our team, and especially our seniors, find ways to play better in big moments. Road wins in the MAC are very hard to come by and we found a way to win tonight."
Junior Taylor Alt led the charge with 17 kills and a .350 attack percentage on Friday, and senior Olivia Vance contributed 11 kills while hitting .556. Junior Payton Morman paced the offensive attack with 44 assists, while Vance and junior Jada Bouyer tied for the team lead with three blocks apiece. Senior Ryann Jaqua collected a match-high 14 digs.
Toledo visits Bowling Green on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. in the Battle of I-75 presented by Cooper Tires.
1st Set (25-18, Miami)
Miami started the match by scoring seven of the first 10 points to take an early lead. Toledo answered each of the RedHawks' first three points with a point of its own, but after Miami broke the 3-3 tie it did not trail for the remainder of the set. The Rockets trimmed the deficit to three, 20-17, but the RedHawks scored five of the final six points to win 25-18 and take a 1-0 lead in the match. Both teams had strong offensive first sets, as Miami hit .472 and Toledo hit .393.
2nd Set (25-16, Toledo)
Neither team led by more than a point until Toledo rattled off three points in a row to go up 12-9. Miami kept pace until a late 5-0 run for the Rockets grew their lead to 22-15. The Rockets ended the second set with three straight points to win, 25-16, and even the match at 1-1. Vance led Toledo with four kills and a block in the second stanza.
3rd Set (25-21, Toledo)
The Rockets scored the first four points of the third set and never trailed in their eventual 25-21 victory. They led by as many as five and never led the RedHawks get closer than a two-point margin in the third frame, winning by four to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Alt was an offensive force in the third set, tallying seven kills on 12 attacks with just one error. Bouyer and junior Abby Erickson both recorded three kills apiece in the set as well.
4th Set (25-23, Toledo)
Toledo took an early 14-10 lead, but Miami clawed back to tie the score at 17-17. Both teams traded blows over the next several points, with a kill from Vance tying the score at 20-20. That would be the final time all night that the RedHawks held a share of the lead, as Toledo scored the next three points to go up 23-20 and take a commanding lead late in the set. Miami made things interesting, pulling within a point at 24-23, but Alt's final kill of the night clinched the set and the match for the Midnight Blue and Gold.
