KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Toledo women's volleyball team fell to the Western Michigan Broncos, 3-0 (22-25, 12-25, 14-25), on Friday night. The Rockets (15-9, 8-4 MAC) and Broncos (12-11, 8-4 MAC) are now tied for fourth place in the conference standings.

Toledo was led by redshirt freshman Sierra Pertzborn who tallied seven kills on a .375 hitting percentage to go with two blocks. Outside hitter Taylor Alt had six kills with 11 digs and a team-best three blocks. Freshman outside hitter Olivia Heitkamp also totaled six kills on the night.

Sophomore setter Macy Hatkevich recorded 27 assists to go along with seven digs, two kills and a block. Freshman libero Grace Freiberger recorded 10 digs while junior Macy Medors had nine digs of her own.

"Western came to play tonight," said Head Coach Jason Oliver. "Our mentality and game were ready for what they do, but they made some defensive changes and it proved hard for us to respond. Our resolve will show up and the character of this Toledo squad will lead us the rest of the way."

Western Michigan was led by Keona Salesman with 12 kills. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE (25-22 Western Michigan)

• Western Michigan jumped out to a quick 5-3 advantage behind a block and string of Toledo errors.
• The Rockets got within one, 6-5, on a kill from Macy Hatkevich, but the Broncos extended their lead by seven after four-straight points, 15-8.
• Kayla Ozanich hammered home a kill and Taylor Alt recorded a solo block to get UT within seven, 18-11.
• A 5-1 surge brought the Rockets within four, 21-17, and kills from Olivia Heitkamp, Izzy Granger and Hatkevich helped Toledo close deficit to 23-21.
• Western Michigan grabbed the first set off a block.

SET TWO (25-12 Western Michigan)

• The Broncos took an early 9-1 lead thanks to six consecutive points.
• Olivia Heitkamp cut the lead to nine, 15-6, with a termination.
• A 3-0 run for the Rockets, highlighted by two service aces from Caylee Sharkey and a kill from Brooke Naniseni, reduced WMU's lead to 21-12.
• The Broncos recorded a 4-0 run to close out the set.

SET THREE (25-14 Western Michigan)

• Kills from Ozanich and Sierra Pertzborn got the Rockets within one, 3-2.
• The Broncos extended their lead with a four-point run but Toledo trimmed their lead to three, 9-6, with a kill from Pertzborn.
• Western Michigan used a 3-0 run to extend its lead to 22-11, but two quick terminations from Pertzborn made it 22-13.
• A service ace and a kill secured the match victory for Western Michigan.

UP NEXT
Toledo concludes the weekend series against the Broncos on Saturday, Nov. 2. First serve is set for 6:00 p.m. with coverage on ESPN+.

Follow the Rockets
Instagram: Toledo_VB
Twitter/X: Toledo_VB
Facebook: Toledo Volleyball