AKRON, Ohio – The Toledo women's volleyball team needed extra time on Saturday, but came out on top of the Akron Zips in five sets.

After dropping the first set, Toledo (10-12, 8-3 MAC) won the next two sets to take a 2-1 lead in the match. The Zips (10-12, 5-6 MAC) extended the match by winning the fourth set, and the Rockets won an extra-long fifth set, 17-15, to cap a 2-0 weekend.

The win keeps the Rockets in the top third of the MAC standings and just one game out of second place. Ball State and Buffalo are both tied for second with identical 9-2 conference records.

Senior Taylor Alt led the way with 22 kills on a .308 attack percentage, one off her season-high kill total. Sophomore Izzy Granger and senior Abby Erickson contributed 12 and 10 kills, respectively, and Erickson led Toledo with seven blocks. Freshman Macy Hatkevich collected 47 assists and added a career-best six blocks, while fifth-year senior Rhyenne Filisi added five blocks. Fifth-year senior Ryann Jaqua posted a team-best 24 digs and Granger added 11 digs for her fourth double-double of the season.

Toledo returns home next weekend to host Ohio and Kent State.

1^st Set (25-21, Akron)
Akron scored the first three points of the match and controlled much of the first set. The Rockets were able to fight back and tie the score at 14-14, and they grabbed their first lead a little while later on a kill from Jada Bouyer that put the score at 18-17. Toledo led by two as late as 20-18, but Akron ended the first set by scoring seven of the final eight points to win, 25-21, and take a 1-0 lead in the match.

2^nd Set (25-20, Toledo)
Toledo opened up a 5-2 lead to kick things off, but Akron scored three straight to even the score at 5-5. The Zips led for a stretch before a 5-0 run for the Rockets gave them a 15-12 lead. Akron nearly took the lead several times, but Toledo continued to hold its position and never trailed for the remainder of the set. With the score tied at 20-20, Abby Erickson bookended a 5-0 UT run to win the second set and tie the match at 1-1.

3^rd Set (27-25, Toledo)
Both teams traded points early, but a 4-0 run for the Rockets gave them a 17-14 led. Akron responded by scoring four of the next five points to tie the score at 18-18, but Erickson's kill quickly put UT back on top by a point. The end of the third set turned into an epic battle, as Toledo went up 22-20 but surrendered three straight points to go down 23-22. The Rockets and Zips both alternated points, which gave Akron a 25-24 lead. Bouyer tied the score at 25-25 with a kill, and two points later Claire Eiden's service ace ended the set and gave Toledo a 27-25 win to go up 2-1 in the match.

4^th Set (25-22, Akron)
Akron led 15-11 at the media timeout, but the Rockets scored six of the next eight points to tie the score at 17-17, with a Taylor Alt kill providing the tying point. The Zips regained the lead at 20-18, but Granger and Alt tallied back-to-back kills to tie it up at 20-20. Akron surged ahead at the end, though, to win 25-22 and force a fifth set.

5^th Set (17-15, Toledo)
Toledo scored the first four points of the fifth set, including three straight kills from Alt. The Zips matched the scoring output though, scoring the next four points to tie it up at 4-4. Akron took its first lead of the set at 7-6 and held onto the lead all the way until match point at 14-12. With their backs against the wall, the Rockets scored two straight points to tie the score at 14-14, and a few plays later Bouyer's kill ended the match, giving UT a 17-15 fifth-set victory.