DEKALB, Ill. – The Toledo women's volleyball team recorded a 3-2 reverse-sweep victory (28-30, 26-28, 25-19, 25-21, 21-19) over Northern Illinois on Saturday evening.
The Rockets move to 16-5 (7-2 MAC) overall on the season and recorded the season sweep over the Huskies. Toledo rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win for the first time this season.
Toledo fired off 14 service aces in the match, the second-straight contest in which the team has totaled double-figure aces and fifth match of the season with 10-plus aces. Senior setter
Kelsey Smith recorded a team-best five aces to go along with a career-best 57 assists and 18 digs for her ninth double-double of the season.
Sophomore outside
Olivia Heitkamp led the Rockets' offense with 19 kills. Senior Sophia Catalano tied her career-high with 17 terminations on a career-best .348 clip. Redshirt sophomore
Kayla Ozanich set a career-best with 17 kills to go along with four blocks.
Sophomore libero
Grace Freiberger paced the defense, totaling 25 digs for her seventh match of the season with 20-plus digs. Junior defensive specialist
Avery Adamski added in a season-best 14 digs.
Redshirt sophomore
Sierra Pertzborn totaled seven blocks, including four solo blocks. The four solo blocks is tied for the 10
th-most in a match in program history. The last player to tally four solo shots was Olivia Vance in March 2021.
Quoting Head Coach Brian Wright
"We have a team that consistently goes hard and competes. That's been our theme all season long. This match is the absolute epitome of who this team is. Third weekend road trip in a row and down 2-0 after losing two tight sets to start the match. Clawing back to get it to a fifth set only to be down 14-11 for a split second, before winning a challenge and then fending off multiple match points. This was 2.5+ hours of pure battle. Liv (Heitkamp) and Sophie (Catalano) were fantastic offensively and Kayla (Ozanich) stepped up in such a major way tonight. Kelsey (Smith) ran a fantastic offense all night long while Grace (Freiberger), Jess (Costlow), Avery (Adamski) and Iremnur (Elmas) did a phenomenal job passing - and we served consistent and tough as well. Amazing team win - so proud of the way this team sticks together and competes. We look forward to being back home in front of our amazing fans next weekend!"
Key Moments
- A block from Kelsey Smith and Sierra Pertzborn put Toledo ahead early in the first set, 6-3. NIU used a four-point surge to gain a 9-6 lead, and extended their advantage to five, 17-12. A block from Jessica Costlow and Pertzborn got the Rockets within two, 23-21, and an ace from Costlow and kill from Olivia Heitkamp knotted the set, 23-23. The teams traded points before Northern Illinois was able to take the 30-28 set win with a kill and service ace.
- The Rockets and Huskies traded points early in the second set before UT was able to string together four-straight points to take a 10-7 lead. Northern Illinois tied the frame with a 3-0 run of their own, 13-13. A termination from Kayla Ozanich put Toledo back in front, 20-17 before NIU responded with four-straight points to regain the lead, 21-20. Pertzborn put the Rockets at set point with a kill, 24-22, but the Huskies rattled off two kills to take the set victory.
- After starting off the third frame going back-and-forth, a kill and ace from Kelsey Smith put the Rockets ahead, 8-5. Kills from Sophie Catalano and an ace from Avery Adamski extended UT's advantage, 13-8. Northern Illinois responded by firing off three quick points to get within two, 18-16, but a 3-0 surge by the Rockets kept them in front, 22-17. Catalano and Ozanich recorded a block to reach set point, 24-19, and Ozanich secured the set win with a kill.
- After a back-and-forth affair to begin the fourth set, the Rockets fired off three-straight points to take an 11-9 lead. The Huskies got within three, 17-14, before a 4-1 run from UT kept the Rockets ahead, 21-15. NIU got within three, 23-20, but Catalano recorded a kill to reach set point, 24-21. Costlow fired off a termination to grab the set victory and force a decisive fifth set.
- A kill from Ozanich put UT in front early on during the fifth set, 3-2. The Huskies tallied four-straight points to take a 6-3 lead. Three consecutive service aces from Kelsey Smith helped the Rockets regain the lead, 9-6. Northern Illinois used a 4-0 run to swing the set back in their favor, 12-10. A solo block from Ozanich knotted the frame, 13-13, and both teams continued to trade points. Catalano's 17th kill put UT at match point and an ace from Sydney Crowley recorded the match victory.
Up Next
Toledo returns to Savage Arena to host Miami on Friday-Saturday, Oct. 24-25. Friday's match will begin at 6:00 p.m. with streaming on ESPN+.
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