SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Toledo women's volleyball team began its weekend home-and-home vs. Notre Dame with a four-set loss in South Bend on Friday.
The Rockets dropped a close first set to fall behind in the match, but bounced back to win the second set and tie things up at 1-1. Despite solid play from Toledo, the Fighting Irish won the third and fourth sets by identical 25-20 scores to win the first of two meetings this weekend.
Toledo and Notre Dame will battle again on Sunday at Savage Arena at 1:00 p.m. Sunday's match will be streamed live on ESPN+ and televised locally on BCSN.
Fans can purchase tickets online at UTRockets.com/tix, by phone at 419-530-GOLD (4653) or at the Rocket Ticket Office in Savage Arena. In addition, fans who attend Saturday's football game vs. San Jose State can use that ticket to receive free admission to Sunday's volleyball match as a part of "Rocket Weekend".
"What a hard-fought match," head coach Jason Oliver said. "The environment was awesome and the level of play was great. Our play was good in stretches and it will hopefully give us some confidence ahead of getting them at home on Sunday."
Seniors Taylor Alt and Jada Bouyer tied for the team lead with 10 kills apiece, with Bouyer also attacking at a team-best rate of .429. Freshman Macy Hatkevich recorded a team-high 23 assists and senior Payton Morman added 17.
Freshman Emily Honzelka continued her torrid pace and led all players with eight blocks, her third straight match with at least six stuffs at the net. Bouyer collected five blocks and Alt added four. Fifth-year senior Ryann Jaqua led the Rockets with 17 digs and sophomore Izzy Granger wasn't far behind with 12 digs.
1st Set (25-22, Notre Dame)
Both teams kept pace with each other in the early stages of the set, but Notre Dame began to pull away and eventually took a 17-11 lead. Toledo responded by scoring five of the next seven points, a stretch that was capped by a service ace from Hatkevich that made it 19-16. The Rockets didn't go down without a fight, spoiling three straight set points to pull within two, 24-22. Notre Dame's Sydney Palazzolo ended the set with a kill, though, to put UT down 1-0.
2nd Set (25-21, Toledo)
After trailing 3-1 early on, Toledo scored four straight to go up 5-3 and never trailed for the remainder of the set. The Rockets led by as many as six, 15-9, but the Fighting Irish surged ahead and tied the score at 19-19. UT and ND traded points and brought the score to a 21-21 stalemate, but Toledo was able to end the set with four straight points to win and even the match at 1-1. Honzelka broke the tie with a kill to make it 22-21, and Alt's service ace ended the set. Senior Abby Erickson was outstanding in the second set, tallying five kills and a block to help the cause.
3rd Set (25-20, Notre Dame)
The Rockets took control early, grabbing a 6-3 lead. Toledo still led at 13-11 but saw the lead evaporate thanks to a 12-3 run by Notre Dame that put the score at 23-16 in favor of the Fighting Irish. Toledo regained control long enough to score four straight points and bring the score to 23-20, but following a timeout Notre Dame scored the final two points it needed to win the set and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
4th Set (25-20, Notre Dame)
Neither team could gain much ground in the fourth set, as neither Toledo nor Notre Dame led by more than two until the later stages of play. The Rockets led 14-12, but the Fighting Irish were able to grab a 17-14 lead after scoring five straight points. Notre Dame hit .333 in the fourth set, the highest for either team on the night, and closed out the contest with a 25-20 win.
