TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo women's volleyball team opened its weekend with a four-set loss to first-place Western Michigan on Friday.

The Rockets (12-15, 10-6 MAC) won the first set, 25-21, to take an early lead against the Broncos (26-2, 16-0 MAC) but they were unable to claim another set. WMU won the second stanza, 25-15, and won the third by a score of 25-19. Western Michigan led wire-to-wire in the fourth set and won, 25-20, to take the match.

Toledo ends the day in fifth place in the MAC standings and a game behind Ohio (16-12, 11-5 MAC). Bowling Green (15-12, 9-7 MAC) won and Central Michigan (14-14, 8-8 MAC) lost, so BGSU sits in sixth place and CMU is in seventh. The top six teams will advance to the MAC Tournament next weekend, leaving the Chippewas on the outside looking at the end of Friday's action.

The Rockets can clinch a tournament spot with a win tomorrow, or with either a Bowling Green loss or a Central Michigan loss.

Fifth-year senior Ryann Jaqua tallied 20 digs on Friday to bring her career total to 2,258. She is now just three digs away from breaking Maurissa Leonard's (2015-18) school record of 2,260 career digs. Jaqua reached the 20-dig mark for the 12^th straight match. 

Sophomore Izzy Granger led Toledo offensively with 14 kills, while seniors Taylor Alt and Abby Erickson both collected nine. Erickson also hit a team-best .571. Granger added four service aces, one off her career high. Senior Mary-Kate Lopez got the nod at setter and had 33 assists.

Toledo and Western Michigan will meet again on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.

1^st Set (25-21, Toledo)
Western Michigan scored the first three points of the match, but Toledo scored five of the next six to take a 5-4 lead. WMU tied the score at 6-6, then again at 7-7 before an ace by Mary-Kate Lopez gave the Rockets an 8-7 advantage. They would not trail for the remainder of the set and led by as many as six en route to a 25-21 win. Taylor Alt was terrific in the first set, tallying 6 kills and hitting .556.

2^nd Set (25-15, Western Michigan)
With the score tied at 7-7 in the second set, the Broncos embarked on an 11-2 run to take a commanding 18-9 lead. They would go on to win, 25-15, and tie the match at 1-1.

3^rd Set (25-19, Western Michigan)
Western Michigan grabbed control of the first set early on and didn't let go. With the score tied at 3-3, WMU used a 6-1 run to go up 9-4, an early deficit that the Rockets could not overcome. Toledo pulled within two, 19-17, and appeared to be within striking distance of reclaiming the lead, but Western Michigan scored the next five points to shut down any comeback attempt. WMU won the set, 25-19, to go up 2-1 in the match.

4^th Set (25-20, Western Michigan)
The Broncos led wire-to-wire in the fourth set. They jumped out to a 7-3 lead and Toledo was unable to jump in front of a Western Michigan squad that attacked at a .350 clip. The Rockets didn't go down without a fight, pulling within three, 23-20, thanks to a late 6-1 run. WMU closed out the set and the match by scoring the final two points to win the set, 25-20.