TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo women's volleyball team finished its weekend with a gutsy win over Memphis on Saturday. The Rockets took down the Tigers in four sets.
The final match of the Toledo Invitational proved to be the most evenly-matched of the tournament, as all four sets needed extra time to be settled. Memphis won the first set, 27-25, and Toledo won the next three sets by scores of 26-24, 27-25, and 27-25.
Senior Jada Bouyer was Toledo's All-Tournament Team selection. She hit .338 and averaged 2.69 kills/set while adding 0.92 blocks/set to help the cause. She saved her best for last, tallying weekend-highs in kills (14), blocks (5), and attack percentage (.393) against Memphis.
"The effort today was amazing," head coach Jason Oliver said. "We really stayed in every point mentally and we are starting to learn what it takes to play high-level, consistent volleyball. Memphis put us under a ton of pressure, and we handled it much better than we have been. I am so happy for Jada. She put on an attacking display and hopefully we can keep growing our offense from all parts of the net as we go."
Bouyer was one of four Rockets to reach double-digits in kills on Saturday. Senior Taylor Alt registered her third straight double-double with 14 kills and 12 digs, while fifth-year senior Rhyenne Filisi and senior Abby Erickson added 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Senior Mary-Kate Lopez collected 47 assists and 10 digs for her first double-double of the year.
Fifth-year senior Ryann Jaqua led Toledo with 23 digs, and sophomore Izzy Granger and senior Claire Eiden both tallied 12 digs. Eiden led the Rockets with three service aces.
Toledo will head to North Dakota next weekend to face North Dakota State and Portland State.
1st Set (27-25, Memphis)
Toledo opened the match with a 6-2 lead, but Memphis quickly tied the score at 8-8. Both teams traded blows, and a 4-0 run by the Rockets was matched by the Tigers, who took a 21-20 lead and forced UT to call a timeout. Erickson's kill coming out of the break tied the score at 21-21, but Memphis pulled ahead and took a 24-23 lead. Filisi tied the score at 24-24, and two points later Bouyer tied things up at 25-25, but Memphis finally put the Rockets away and won the set to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
2nd Set (26-24, Toledo)
Toledo grabbed control of the second set early, taking a commanding 13-5 lead. The lead didn't last forever though, and the Tigers were able to overcome their sizable deficit to tie the score at 24-24 late in the set. Seeing their lead disappear didn't faze the Rockets, who scored the final two points of the set to win and tie the match at 1-1. A Memphis service error broke the tie and Granger's kill ended the set.
3rd Set (27-25, Toledo)
The Tigers jumped out ahead this time, taking a 13-8 lead. Toledo then began scoring in bunches, and before long tied the score at 16-16. Memphis wrestled the lead back and appeared to be in control, holding a 24-22 advantage. Granger cut the deficit to one with a kill, and a Memphis attack error tied the score at 24-24. The Rockets and Tigers traded points to put the score at 25-25, but a kill from Filisi and an emphatic block by Granger ended the set and handed Toledo a 2-1 lead in the match.
4th Set (27-25, Toledo)
Memphis scored the first three points of the set, but Toledo's serve-receive propelled a 7-1 run that put it ahead 7-3. The run started with a Memphis service error, and Eiden rattled off three aces to help put the Rockets on top. The pendulum quickly swung in the opposite direction, however, and the Tigers used a 10-2 run to go up, 15-10. The Rockets slowly chipped away at the deficit until another clutch block from Granger tied the score at 21-21. As had been the case all match, Toledo and Memphis traded points until the very end when, with the score tied at 25-25, UT scored twice to end the match. Filisi brought about match point with her final kill of the night, and Alt and Erickson combined on the match-winning block to seal the win.
