TOLEDO, Ohio – Toledo women's volleyball fell to Mid-American Conference opponent Western Michigan, 3-1 (12-25, 29-27, 19-25, 22-25), on Saturday evening in Savage Arena.

The Rockets sit at 18-8 (9-5 MAC) on the season and are now in third place in the conference standings.

Senior Sophie Catalano and freshman Jessica Costlow each tallied nine kills throughout the match. Costlow added a team-high three service aces and 11 digs for her fifth double-double of the season.

Senior setter Kelsey Smith tallied 34 assists and a career-high 23 digs for her 11^th double-double of the season. Smith also poured in six terminations of her own.

Sophomore libero Grace Freiberger totaled 25 digs throughout the match, marking her 11th contest this season with 20-plus digs.

Quoting Head Coach Brian Wright
"Thank you to our fans for showing up and being loud! We look forward to getting our bodies a little rest and then having a great week of practice before our final two home matches next weekend. Spread the word and help us make our final home weekend of 2025 a great one!"

Key Moments

• Western Michigan jumped out to an early 6-1 lead in the first set and extended its advantage to 12-6 with a kill. Back-to-back aces kept the Broncos in control of the set.
• The Rockets and Broncos went back-and-forth to start the second set before kills from Sierra Pertzborn and Kelsey Smith gave UT a slight lead, 10-7. After trading points, the Rockets used a 4-0 run to take a one point advantage, 18-17. A kill from Smith kept Toledo ahead by one before the teams went back and forth and traded set points. A 3-0 run by the Rockets, highlighted by kills from Jessica Costlow and Pertzborn, rounded out the set and secured the victory for UT.
• The Broncos took an early 9-3 lead in the third set. The Rockets got within three, 10-7, with two kills from Sophie Catalano and a block from Catalano and Anna Alford. Western Michigan extended its lead to six with a service ace, 21-15, UT responded with a quick 3-0 run of its own to cut the lead to five, 23-18. The Broncos rattled off an ace and kill for the set win.
• Costlow started off the fourth set with two straight aces to put the Rockets ahead, 3-1. Western Michigan used a 4-0 surge to take a 10-8 lead, but a block from Catalano and Alford and a termination from Costlow evened the match, 10-10. After trading blows, the Broncos jumped out to a four-point lead with an ace, 21-17. UT responded with a 3-0 run to tie the match, 21-21, before WMU won four of the final five points of the set for the match win.

Up Next
Toledo wraps up play in Savage Arena by hosting Buffalo on Friday-Saturday, Nov. 7-8. First serve against the Bulls on Friday is set for 6:00 p.m.

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