The past two seasons have been some of the most successful for the Toledo women's volleyball program in its history. The Rockets have collected 39 combined victories during this time, the most since 1982-83, and have earned back-to-back National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) berths.

With a talented crop of returners and an exciting batch of newcomers making up the 2023 squad, head coach Jason Oliver believes the program is in a great place to continue improving.

"I think that the roster and the state of our program have never been better," Oliver said. "The players are all talented from top to bottom, and the length and athleticism is outstanding. Our volleyball IQ and experience is off the charts. I think all of this, and the development of our leaders, is what will make this group special."

Last season, Toledo posted a 19-13 record and advanced to the NIVC for the second straight year, defeating Clemson to advance to the second round. The victory was the second Power Five win for the Rockets last season, who won at Arizona State on Aug. 27 to cap a 3-0 season-opening weekend.

Toledo welcomes back 12 letterwinners from a year ago, including three-time All-MAC honoree Taylor Alt and fifth-year seniors Ryann Jaqua and Rhyenne Filisi. Alt led the MAC in both kills (4.12/set) and scoring (4.75 points/set) last season, while Jaqua ranked third in the MAC and 20th in the nation in digs/set (5.04).

An exciting blend of experience and new talent gives Oliver and his staff plenty of options at every position, especially with a roster that goes 18 players deep.

"Every day in practice is a battle," Oliver said. "Every player really has to bring their A-game to even be in the gym. This is a great group of student-athletes who will represent the program, athletic department, and University with class and set a new benchmark for Toledo volleyball."

The Rockets have received their first tastes of postseason play these last two seasons, and Oliver believes it has put them in a position to set their sights even higher.

"I think that our program has been steadily improving every year from the day I got here," Oliver said.  "The next step is to know that we have been to the postseason and that we now want something more.  We want a MAC Championship and an NCAA Tournament berth."

The following is a position-by-position breakdown of the Rockets' 2023 roster:

Outside Hitters

Toledo's collection of outside hitters includes perhaps the best one in the Mid-American Conference in senior Taylor Alt.

Alt has been a first-team all-conference selection in all three of her seasons as a Rocket and will likely break the program's career kills record at some point this season. Her 1,232 career kills are 315 away from breaking L.G. Bass' record of 1,546 (1984-87).

"Taylor is the anchor and will carry a big load," Oliver said. "But this is a deep position group. All of them can play six rotations."

Sophomore Izzy Granger and senior Rachel Pierce both bring talent and great skillsets to the position as well. Pierce has 68 matches under her belt in her Rocket career and Granger appeared in nine contests as a freshman last season. Freshman Brooke Naniseni will compete for playing time as well.

"Brooke is a physical player with a ton of game, I really love her development so far," Oliver said.

On the right side, senior Jada Bouyer saw her game grow by leaps and bounds last season. She ranked second on the team in kills (2.45/set) and played in all 32 matches, starting nine.

Middle Blockers

A three-year starter, fifth-year senior Rhyenne Filisi leads a talented group of middles. Last season, she averaged 1.84 kills/set and 0.85 blocks/set and recorded at least five blocks in eight matches. Senior Abby Erickson (0.55 blocks/set) received praise as well for how she has improved ahead of the season.

"Abby and Rhyenne make for a great 1-2 combo in the middle," Oliver said. "Both players bring a lot of experience to the position. They've been leading the way with their consistently great play and their high volleyball IQ."

Sophomore Anna Alford and freshman Emily Honzelka add depth and size at the position and will have every chance to compete for more playing time.

"There is no drop off when you look at Anna and Emily," Oliver said. "Both are super long and very gifted laterally on their block. The depth at this position and the competition is at an all-time high."

Freshmen Kayla Ozanich and Sierra Pertzborn will redshirt this season, but Oliver likes what he has seen during preseason practices so far.

"Sierra is long and really physical, and Kayla has shown great potential," he said. "Redshirting this season will really help them both and help our team in the long run"

Setters

Toledo features three talented setters on its roster: seniors Payton Morman and Mary-Kate Lopez and freshman Macy Hatkevich.  

"The three setters all bring the level of energy and poise that I want from the position," Oliver said.

Morman started 29 of 32 matches last year and averaged 9.64 assists/set. She was also Toledo's starting setter as a true freshman during the 2021 spring season. Lopez stepped in near the end of the season to start three matches, averaging 10.9 assists/set in her starts.

"Payton was the starter last year and has a ton of experience on her side," Oliver said. "She has shown great growth as a setter and is maturing into the posed competitor we always knew she could be.

"Mary-Kate is really playing a physical brand of volleyball.  She has embraced the system that we run and is getting very consistent with her location and level of play."

Hatkevich was a two-time first-team all-conference honoree in high school and helped lead her team to a 115-25 record during her career.

"Macy is a sparkplug," Oliver said. "She shows consistent play and has a great volleyball brain.  She loves the sport and has come in and given the group an instant boost of energy and level of play.  She has forced the group to be better in all aspects."

Defensive Specialists/Liberos

Fifth-year senior Ryann Jaqua brings a wealth of experience to the back row. She has played in 113 matches in her career and averaged a career-best 5.04 digs/set last season. Senior Claire Eiden and sophomore Macy Medors saw time in 27 and 19 matches, respectively, last season. Both will see time on the court this season.

"I am really happy with the development of this group as a whole over the past year," Oliver said. "I think their consistency and overall technique has been a big emphasis for us, and they all have stepped up and are really keeping our level of play high."

Freshman Avery Adamski is the lone newcomer in the back row for the Rockets.

"Avery is a really great defender and she is learning our system well," Oliver said. "She is playing at a high level and I love her defensive presence."