BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Toledo women's volleyball team fell to Bowling Green, 3-0 (24-26, 20-25, 29-27) in the latest edition of the Battle of I-75 on Tuesday evening in Bowling Green, Ohio.

The Rockets sit at 17-7 (8-4 MAC) following the loss and are third place in the Mid-American Conference standings.

Sophomore Olivia Heitkamp paced the offense for seventh-straight match with 12 kills. Senior Sophie Catalano added nine terminations and redshirt sophomore Kayla Ozanich poured in eight kills of her own.

Sophomore libero Grace Freiberger recorded 22 digs, her ninth match of the season with 20 or more digs, and chipped in two aces. Freshman Jessica Costlow added a career-best 15 digs and two aces while senior setter Kelsey Smith had 28 assists and nine digs.

Quoting Head Coach Brian Wright
"Thank you to the hundreds of Toledo fans that made the drive and made their voice heard. The support was amazing. We'll watch video, get back in the gym and get better because of it. Quick turnaround to another two-match series with a good team this weekend. We're excited to be back in Savage in front of our fans."

Key Moments

• A 3-0 run put Toledo in front early in the first set, 5-2. The Falcons strung together four straight points to take the lead, 8-6. Both sides continued to trade points before Bowling Green took a 19-17 lead thanks to a block and a kill. Grace Freiberger fired off two consecutive service aces to put UT back in the lead, 20-19, before both sides engaged in back-and-forth action. A kill put the Falcons at set point, 24-22, before a BG service error and block from Sophie Catalano and Kayla Ozanich evened the match, 24-24. A block and kill from the Falcons gave them the set win.
• Sierra Pertzborn and Olivia Heitkamp combined for a block to help the Rockets get an early lead in the second set, 5-2. A kill from Catalano kept UT ahead, 8-5, but the Falcons responded with a 6-0 run to take a 13-9 lead. Three quick points from the Rockets, including an ace from Jessica Costlow, put them within one, 14-13, and a kill from Heitkamp evened the set, 15-15. The Falcons took a three-point lead, 19-16, before a termination from Catalano put the Rockets within four, 24-20. BGSU took the set with a kill.
• Bowling Green got an early 4-1 lead in the third set but a 4-0 surge from the Rockets gave them the slight advantage, 7-5. A 6-1 run by UT, capped off with Costlow's second ace, extended the advantage, 15-9. The Falcons got within two, 15-13, before the Rockets pushed their lead to four with a kill from Heitkamp, 19-15. Bowling Green responded with a block to even the set, 22-22, and both teams traded points. A Falcon error and kill from Heitkamp put UT in front, 24-23, but BGSU tied the match and was able to take the match victory with a kill.  

Up Next
Toledo returns to Savage Arena to host Western Michigan for a pair of matches on Friday-Saturday, Oct. 31-Nov. 1. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.

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