AMES, Iowa - The Toledo women's volleyball team fell to Illinois, 3-0 (9-25, 19-25, 18-25), in the second match of the Cyclone Invitational on Friday evening.
The Rockets (3-2, 0-0 MAC) were led offensively by Taylor Alt who recorded eight kills, two digs and two blocks. Sophomore setter Macy Hatkevich tallied 12 assists and three digs while graduate setter Ella Abraham added 10 assists of her own.
Junior Izzy Granger had six kills along with an ace on Friday. Redshirt freshman Sierra Pertzborn poured in six kills of her own and four total blocks with Avery Adamski adding eight digs.
"We learned a lot about our team today against a tough Illinois team," said head coach Jason Oliver. "We found out that we can find good volleyball against a good team. We played progressively better each set and really began to find the level of play we had last weekend. I am excited to see this team embrace that play and perform to that standard in our next match."
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE (25-9 Illinois)
- A block from Sierra Pertzborn and Caylee Sharkey kept the match even early, 3-3.
- An 11-1 Illinois run proved to be too much for the Rockets in the set.
SET TWO (25-19 Illinois)
- Toledo jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, thanks to kills from Pertzborn and Taylor Alt.
- Both sides traded points, keeping the match within one point of one another.
- Illinois took a six-point lead, but the Rockets were able to get within three, 21-18, behind a kill and an ace from Sharkey.
SET THREE (25-18 Illinois)
- Toledo used a 4-0 surge to take the lead, led by a block from Olivia Heitkamp and Pertzborn and a Granger ace.
- An 8–1 Illinois run put the Illini ahead by six, 15-9.
- Kills from Alt and Sharkey combined with a block from Granger and Honzelka sent the Rockets on a 3-0 run of their own to get within four, 19-15.
- The Fighting Illini took the match win off of a kill and an error.
UP NEXT
Toledo will conclude the Cyclone Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 7 when the Rockets take on Wake Forest. First serve is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
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