TOLEDO, Ohio – The volleyball regular season is winding down, and Toledo hosts first-place Western Michigan this weekend for a pair of important Mid-American Conference matches.
Friday's match begins at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday's match is set for a 2:00 p.m. start. Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.
The Rockets enter play this weekend with an overall record of 12-14 and a MAC record of 10-5, and they control their destiny with three matches remaining in the regular season and a MAC Tournament spot on the line.
Postseason Picture
Toledo is tied with Ohio (15-12, 10-5 MAC) for fourth place in the conference standings, though OU owns the tiebreaker. Bowling Green (14-12, 8-7 MAC) and Central Michigan (14-13, 8-7 MAC) are tied for sixth place, and with the top six teams advancing to the MAC Tournament in a couple of weeks, one of those teams will be left out of the postseason picture.
The Rockets own the tiebreaker over the Falcons but do not own the tiebreaker over CMU.
A win on Friday or a Bowling Green loss would ensure that Toledo advances to the MAC Tournament for the third straight season. If neither of those scenarios comes to pass, the Rockets will have to wait until Saturday to clinch a spot.
The MAC Tournament will be held in Kalamazoo, Mich. from Nov. 18-20.
Senior Day
Toledo will honor nine seniors following Saturday's match: Taylor Alt, Jada Bouyer, Claire Eiden, Abby Erickson, Ryann Jaqua, Mary-Kate Lopez, Payton Morman, Rachel Pierce, and student manager Rachel Schneider.
Ryann Jaqua Chasing Down Familiar Face for All-Time Dig Record
Ryann Jaqua enters the weekend at 2,238 career digs and is closing in on Toledo's all-time career digs record. She is 23 digs away from breaking Maurissa Leonard's (2015-18) school record of 2,260. Toledo has five matches remaining in the regular season.
Jaqua leads the MAC and ranks 15th in the country in digs this season, averaging 5.17 per set.
About Western Michigan
The Broncos are 25-2 and 15-0 in MAC play this year and clinched their first MAC title since 2008 this past weekend. They are fueled by one of the top setters in the country, Logan Case, who ranks second in the nation in assists (11.94/set). WMU ranks third in the country in assists (13.58/set) and fourth in kills (14.49/set). The team's top offensive threat is Maggie King (3.73 kills/set).
Next Up
Toledo hosts Ball State on Wednesday, Nov. 15 in its final regular season match of the year.
