TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo women's volleyball team hosted Kent State on Saturday night and fell to the Golden Flashes in four sets.
The Rockets (10-14, 8-5 MAC) dropped the first two sets against Kent State (6-18, 2-11 MAC) on Saturday before keeping the match alive by winning the third set. A back-and-forth fourth set that saw 17 tie scores and 10 lead changes went the way of the Golden Flashes, however, and gave Toledo its second straight loss.
The Rockets are tied for fourth with Ohio (13-12, 8-5 MAC) in the MAC standings following this weekend's action. A four-team logjam exists for the sixth and final spot in the standings between Bowling Green (12-12, 6-7 MAC), Central Michigan (12-13, 6-7 MAC), Akron (11-13, 6-7 MAC), and Northern Illinois (8-17, 6-7 MAC). The top six teams advance to the MAC Tournament, which will be hosted by the regular-season champion.
Senior Taylor Alt led all players with 22 kills while adding 11 digs, her 11th double-double of the season. Sophomore Izzy Granger recorded 15 kills, her highest termination output in a MAC match this season. Joining Alt and Granger with double-digit kills was senior Jada Bouyer, who collected 10. Fifth-year senior Ryann Jaqua added 21 digs and senior Claire Eiden contributed 11 digs.
Toledo visits Northern Illinois for a pair of matches next weekend.
1st Set (25-19, Kent State)
Toledo appeared to be in a good spot to open the match, taking an 11-7 lead to get things going. Kent State quickly grabbed control, however, and scored nine straight points to go up 17-12. The momentum swing proved to be too much for the Rockets, who couldn't wrestle the lead away from the Golden Flashes for the rest of the set. Kent State went on to win, 25-19, to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
2nd Set (25-23, Kent State)
The Rockets jumped out to a 7-2 lead to open the second set, with a service ace from Avery Adamski capping a good start for the Midnight Blue and Gold. Kent State scored six of the next seven points to tie the score at 8-8, but the stalemate didn't last long. Toledo regained its composure and led for an extended period, going up 21-18 at one point. The Golden Flashes shifted the tide though, scoring five straight points to go up 23-21 before winning 25-23 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
3rd Set (25-22, Toledo)
Toledo found itself behind early, trailing 5-2, before surging ahead and taking an 11-8 lead. With the score tied at 14-14, Taylor Alt's kill gave UT a 15-14 lead heading into the media timeout. The Rockets would not trail for the remainder of the set, but not without facing some pressure from the Golden Flashes. Kent State pulled within a point late, 23-22, before Alt collected back-to-back kills to end the set and keep Toledo alive.
4th Set (25-23, Kent State)
The fourth set was about as close as it gets, with the Rockets and Golden Flashes trading leads 10 times and fighting to 17 stalemates. Kent State led, 15-14, at the midway points, but a short while later Jada Bouyer's kill gave Toledo an 18-17 advantage. The Rockets held a lead as late as 21-20, but Kent State scored three straight points to take a 23-21 lead it would not relinquish.
