TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo women's volleyball team didn't back down against a tough Virginia Tech team on Friday, but fell to the Hokies in five sets.
The Rockets came out and won the first set (25-22) to take an early lead in the match, but dropped the next two by scores of 25-20 and 25-21. Toledo dominated the fourth set (25-15) to force a decisive fifth frame, where it kept pace with Virginia Tech until the bitter end when the Hokies won, 15-11.
"That was a battle and I think both teams really found out a lot about themselves," head coach Jason Oliver said. "Of course, we wanted to find the win, but I am optimistic about our approach tonight. A couple of plays here and there and it is a different result. We need to approach the rest of the season with the type of focus and effort we showed tonight."
Senior Mary-Kate Lopez got the start at setter and tallied a career-high 53 assists. Sophomore Izzy Granger led the Rockets in kills with 16, and senior Taylor Alt was close behind with 15. Alt added 10 digs for her second straight double-double. Senior Abby Erickson collected 12 kills and tied for the team lead with three blocks.
Fifth-year senior Ryann Jaqua led Toledo with 19 digs and senior Claire Eiden added a season-high 11 digs.
Toledo will face Memphis on Saturday afternoon to conclude its weekend tournament. The match will begin at 2:30 p.m. and be streamed live on ESPN+.
1st Set (25-22, Toledo)
The serve-receive game played a vital role early in the first set as Toledo took a 10-8 lead, scoring seven points on either service aces or VT service errors. The Rockets were able to build a sizable eight-point lead, 20-12, but the Hokies did not go down without a fight. Virginia Tech trimmed Toledo's lead to two, 22-20, before fifth-year senior Rhyenne Filisi quelled the Hokies' scoring run with a kill. Erickson provided the 25th point to end the set and put the Rockets up 1-0 in the match.
2nd Set (25-20, Virginia Tech)
With the score tied at 13-13, Virginia Tech scored four straight points to go up 17-13. The Rockets were able to trim the deficit to two at 20-18, but couldn't string together a run to overtake their opponent. Virginia Tech would go on the win the set, 25-20, to even the match.
3rd Set (25-21, Virginia Tech)
Toledo doubled up Virginia Tech early, 6-3, but wouldn't stay in front for much longer. The Hokies scored six straight points at one juncture to take a 13-9 lead and never trailed again for the remainder of the set. VT took the third frame, 25-21, to go up 2-1 and put the Rockets on the brink.
4th Set (25-15, Toledo)
Needing a win to send the match to a decisive fifth frame, Toledo responded by hitting .448 and dominating the fourth set. The Rockets jumped out to a 10-3 lead and never looked back, eventually building a double-digit advantage. Alt, Erickson, and Granger all tallied four kills apiece en route to a 25-15 win to force a fifth set.
5th Set (15-11, Virginia Tech)
Toledo scored four of the first five points of the set, but Virginia Tech responded with a 6-1 run to go up 7-5. The Rockets continued to fight, with a Granger kill putting the score at 9-8 in favor of VT. Alt would again put Toledo within a point, 10-9, but that would be the closest the Rockets would get for the rest of the night. The Hokies closed out the fifth set, 15-11, to win the match.
