TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo women's volleyball team won the first two sets vs. Buffalo on Friday, but couldn't hold on to win in a five-set loss to the Bulls at Savage Arena.

The Rockets (7-11, 5-2 MAC) won the first two sets by scores of 25-23 and 25-19 to take a 2-0 lead in the match, and they did not trail at any point in sets one or two. Buffalo (16-3, 6-1 MAC) responded by winning the third set, 25-22, before taking a back-and-forth fourth set by a score of 27-25 to force a decisive fifth frame. Toledo jumped out to an early lead in the fifth set, but the Bulls came out on top, 16-14, to win the match.

"What a hard fought match," head coach Jason Oliver said. "It was exciting, and both teams showed great heart. Some critical moments didn't go our way and that was the difference. I am excited to see the character this reveals in our team, we have a big task ahead of us tomorrow."

Senior Taylor Alt hit .300 and accumulated 22 kills, bringing her career kill total to 1,508, moving her into third place all-time in school history. Alt is seven kills behind Kate Bean (1,515 kills, 2003-06) and 38 behind all-time leader L.G. Bass (1,546 kills, 1984-87).

Senior Abby Erickson added nine kills and tied a career-high with eight blocks, leading a Rocket squad that collected 13.0 total blocks on Friday. Senior Jada Bouyer and sophomore Izzy Granger both had nine kills as well, and Bouyer had four blocks.

Fifth-year senior Ryann Jaqua paced Toledo with 21 digs, one of four Rockets to reach double-digits in digs. Granger (16 digs), Alt (13 digs), and freshman Macy Hatkevich (12 digs) all reached that benchmark, with Hatkevich also supplying a career-high 49 assists.

Toledo and Buffalo will meet again on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. on ESPN+.

1^st Set (25-23, Toledo)
Rhyenne Filisi and Izzy Granger started the night with a block to set the tone early, and Toledo quickly jumped out to a 9-6 lead. Buffalo fought to tie the score at 11-11, but the Rockets answered with four straight points to go up, 15-11. Toledo never trailed in the first set but did have to fight off a feisty Buffalo squad that tied the score as late as 23-23. Granger and Abby Erickson ended the set with back-to-back kills, though, to put UT ahead 1-0 in the match.

2^nd Set (25-19, Toledo)
Buffalo hung around early in the second set, but with the score tied at 8-8, the Rockets launched on a 6-1 run to take a 14-9 lead. Toledo never led by fewer than four for the remainder of the second set and went on to win, 25-19, to take a 2-0 lead in the match. The Rockets were stout defensively in the second set, holding the Bulls to a match-low .156 attack percentage.

3^rd Set (25-22, Buffalo)
Buffalo scored the first point of the third set to take its first lead of the night and parlayed that momentum into a 7-3 lead. Unfazed, Toledo was later able to score five straight points to not erase its deficit and take an 18-16 advantage. The Bulls responded by scoring four of the next five points to go up 20-19, but Toledo fought back to tie the score at 22-22. That would be the final time UT held a share of the lead in the third set, as Buffalo scored the next three points to win, 25-22, and stay alive.

4^th Set (27-25, Buffalo)
For the second straight set, the Bulls jumped out to an early lead, this time going up 5-1. Toledo clawed back to tie the score and eventually took the lead before both teams traded blows in a battle that needed extra points to resolve. With the score tied at 21-21, Buffalo recorded back-to-back kills to go up 23-21, but Toledo responded with two straight points to bring about a 23-23 stalemate. The Bulls put the Rockets on the brink twice, once at 24-23 and again at 25-24, but Toledo answered both times to tie the score. A service error gave Buffalo a 26-25 lead, but this time the Rockets would not respond. A block by the Bulls won them the fourth set, 27-25, and forced a fifth set.

5^th Set (16-14, Buffalo)
Toledo doubled up Buffalo early, taking a 6-3 lead, but the Bulls used a 6-2 run to go up 9-8. Toledo tied the score at 9-9 on a kill by Taylor Alt and tied it again at 10-10 and 12-12, but Buffalo scored the next two points to make it 14-12 and bring about match point. Erickson and Alt tallied back-to-back kills to tie the score at 14-14 and give the Rockets a fighting chance, but the Bulls scored the next two points to win the set and the match.