AKRON, Ohio – Senior Taylor Alt shattered the Mid-American Conference's all-time kill record and Toledo moved into first place in the MAC as the Rockets defeated Akron, 3-1, in a road match on Thursday night.

The win was the fourth straight for Toledo (13-7, 6-2 MAC), which is now lodged in a five-way tie at the top of the MAC.

Alt, an outside hitter, registered 20 kills to give her 1,993 for her career and move past Ohio University's Ellen Herman, who had 1,984 kills from 2006-09. The Ottawa, Ohio native broke the Toledo kills record nearly a year ago in a 3-2 win at Akron on Oct. 20, 2023.

Toledo saw two other players reach double-figure kills on Thursday. Junior Izzy Granger followed Alt with 11 kills to go along with a career-best five assists. Redshirt freshman Sierra Pertzborn poured in 10 kills with a .500 hitting percentage while adding five blocks.

Freshman libero Grace Freiberger recorded a team-high 30 digs, totaling her second match with 30-plus digs on the season. Sophomore setter Macy Hatkevich totaled 43 assists and 11 digs for her sixth double-double of the season and 14th of her career.

"What an unbelievable night for the Rocket Volleyball program," said head coach Jason Oliver. "Taylor (Alt) and the humble leadership she shows everyday has been the backbone of our program. I am happy for her breaking the all-time kill record, but I am happier that our program has embraced the humble leadership she shows. We needed all of that against a great Akron team."

Akron (8-12, 4-4 MAC) was led by Emanouela Christodoulou with 21 kills.  

HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE (25-18 Toledo)

• Back-to-back kills from Sierra Pertzborn and Izzy Granger put Toledo in front early, 6-4.
• The Rockets pushed the lead to three, 12-9, behind kills by Granger and Taylor Alt.
• A service ace from Macy Hatkevich put Toledo's lead at four, 16-12, and Ozanich extended the lead to six, 20-14, with a kill.
• Alt's fifth kill of the evening put the Rockets at set point and a termination from Pertzborn secured the set victory.

SET TWO (25-23 Toledo)

• Akron took an early 3-1 lead, but the Rockets rattled off a 4-0 run of their own to retake the lead, 5-3.
• The Zips responded with a 3-0 surge to tie the match, 10-10. Two kills from Granger put Toledo back in front by two, 12-10.
• Kills from Ozanich, Alt and Pertzborn put Toledo in control, 17-13, and a termination from Granger extended the lead to six, 21-15.
• Granger's seventh kill of the night put the Rockets at set point, 24-19, but the Zips fired off a 5-0 run to get back within one, 24-23.
• Granger hammered home a termination to take the set win and a 2-0 lead over the Zips.

SET THREE (25-18 Akron)

• The Zips jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead off a string of kills. Akron added a service ace to take a 9-4 lead, but a kill from Granger and Akron error cut the lead, 9-6.
• Olivia Heitkamp tallied her first block of the night to keep the Rockets within three, 10-7.
• Akron extended their lead to seven, 17-10. A kill from Caylee Sharkey put Toledo within six, 17-11, but Akron stretched their lead, 22-14.
• Toledo looked to rally with a kill from Heitkamp and a block from Ozanich and Granger to get within five, 22-17. Akron took the set win off a kill and a block.

SET FOUR (26-24 Toledo)

• Akron took an early 9-2 lead. Toledo responded with a 4-0 run, powered by two Heitkamp kills and a termination from Anna Alford, to get within three, 9-6.
• Pertzborn and Heitkamp combined for a block to keep the Rockets within two, 12-10, but the Zips were able to extend their lead back to five, 17-12.
• Akron held their lead at five points, 20-15. Toledo began to chip away, firing off a 4-0 run behind blocks from Pertzborn, Hatkevich and Alt.
• The Zips reached match point, 24-21, but the Rockets rattled off five straight points off of an Alt kill and a block from Alford and Hatkevich to tie the match, 24-24.
• A kill from Hatkevich put Toledo at match point and Alt hammered home her 20th kill of the night to take the win.

UP NEXT
Toledo wraps up its road trip with a visit to Buffalo on Friday, Oct. 18. First serve from Alumni Arena is set for 6:00 p.m. with coverage on ESPN+.

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