Taylor Alt Becomes Toledo’s All-Time Career Kills Leader in Win at Akron

Friday, October 20

Akron, Ohio

6:00 p.m.

University of Toledo

9-12,7-3MAC

Akron

10-11,5-5MAC

Toledo

Akron

Taylor Alt (#17) broke the school record for career kills in Friday's win at Akron.

Taylor Alt Becomes Toledo’s All-Time Career Kills Leader in Win at Akron

10/20/2023 8:59:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Senior outside hitter led the Rockets with 15 kills on Friday

AKRON, Ohio – Senior Taylor Alt of the Toledo volleyball team became the program's all-time record holder for career kills in the Rockets' 3-1 victory at Akron on Friday night.

Alt, who entered the match needing eight kills to break the record held by former Rocket L.G. Bass (1,546 kills, 1984-87), tallied career kill number 1,547 early in the third set. The Ottawa, Ohio native's name already litters the record book; she owns two of the 10 highest single-match kill performances in school history, and her owns the fourth and fifth-highest single-season kill totals as well. Alt averages 4.00 kills/set for her career, which is comfortably the best mark in school history.

The importance of Friday's match extended beyond Alt's record-setting performance. Toledo improved to 7-3 in league play with the win and took sole possession of fourth place in the conference standings. The Rockets are now a game up on Northern Illinois and Ohio and two games up on Akron. The victory also keeps them just one game back of Buffalo.

"What a high-level, well-executed match," head coach Jason Oliver said. "Both teams brought their 'A' game tonight and it was great to see us pull it out and get the win."

Alt tallied a team-high 15 kills and added 13 digs for her 10^th double-double of the season. She was one of three Rockets to record a double-double on Friday, with sophomore Izzy Granger and freshman Macy Hatkevich also achieving that feat. Granger collected 13 kills and 18 digs, while Hatkevich contributed 43 assists and 12 digs. Granger also set a career-high with five service aces. Fifth-year senior Ryann Jaqua led all players with 22 digs, and senior Jada Bouyer tabulated 10 kills.

Toledo and Akron will face off again on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.

1^st Set (25-20, Toledo)
Toledo led early, 5-3, before Akron embarked on a 5-0 run to take an 8-5 advantage. The Rockets trailed until a 4-1 run tied the score at 11-11, with three of the four points coming off kills from Izzy Granger. Akron pulled ahead once again and Toledo wasn't able to regain the lead until an ace by Ryann Jaqua made the score 20-19. Jaqua's ace proved to be the spark that the Rockets needed, as they would score seven of the final eight points of the first set to win, 25-20, and take a 1-0 lead in the match.

2^nd Set (25-18, Toledo)
Akron led for much of the early part of the second set, but a 6-0 Toledo scoring run flipped the script and gave UT a 15-13 advantage. Anna Alford's kill opened up the six-point surge, and a block by Jada Bouyer provided an emphatic punctuation mark. The Rockets never trailed again in the second set, and scored seven of the final eight points of the set to cruise to a 25-18 win and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

3^rd Set (30-28, Akron)
The second set on Friday was the longest of the night and tied for the longest set this season for Toledo with the second set vs. Notre Dame on Sept. 17. Akron opened up a 6-4 lead, but the Rockets responded with a 10-1 run to double up the Zips and take a 14-7 lead. Momentum quickly swung in Akron's, as they scored eight of the next 10 points to trim Toledo's lead to 16-15. The Rockets' lead disappeared late in the set, as the Zips scored three straight to go up, 23-21. The battle was just beginning, however, as Toledo brought about match point on three separate occasions. But with a 28-27 lead, Toledo surrendered three straight points to fall, 30-28.

4^th Set (25-21, Toledo)
Toledo wasn't going to leave the fourth set up to chance, as Izzy Granger tallied three straight service aces early on to give her team a 4-1 lead. The Zips trimmed the lead to one multiple times, but each time the Rockets stood tall and never gave up any more ground. The last time Akron came that close was at 17-16, but Toledo scored three straight points to make it 20-16. The Rockets would go on to win, 25-21, to win the set and the match.