AKRON, Ohio – The Toledo women's volleyball team fell to Akron 3-0 (18-25, 22-25, 21-25) on Friday night in Akron, Ohio.

The Rockets now sit at 19-10 (10-7 MAC) on the season and remain in fourth place in the Mid-American Conference standings. The top six teams in the standings will make the conference tournament that begins next weekend in Bowling Green, Ohio.

The Toledo offense was led by redshirt junior Sophie Catalano and sophomore Olivia Heitkamp who each tallied nine kills. Heitkamp recorded a .600 clip and no errors on the night.

Redshirt sophomore Sierra Pertzborn chipped in seven terminations of her own to go with a team-high five blocks. Senior Anna Alford poured in six terminations on 11 attempts with no errors to record a season-high .545 hitting percentage.

Sophomore libero Grace Freiberger had a team-high 15 digs and added a career-best eight assists. Senior setter Kelsey Smith totaled 28 assists along with six digs.

Key Moments

• Akron got off to an early 8-0 lead in the first set. A kill from Sophie Catalano cut UA's lead to seven, 13-6, and used a 5-1 run to get within three, 15-12. The Zips extended their lead to six, 20-14, and took the set with a pair of kills.
• The Rockets and Zips traded points through the first portion of the second set until kills from Kelsey Smith and Sierra Pertzborn put Toledo in front, 17-15. Akron responded with four quick points to take the advantage, 19-17, before Anna Alford evened the contest with a termination, 21-21. Two kills from the Zips put them at set point, 24-22, and Akron took the set win on a UT attack error.
• Akron took a quick 6-4 lead in the third set with a 4-0 run, but the Rockets responded to tie the match with kills from Olivia Heitkamp and Alford. A quick 3-0 surge by UT, highlighted by a service ace from Avery Adamski, gave Toledo a slight 12-10 advantage. UA fired off six straight points to take a 16-12 lead before two kills from Pertzborn kept UT within two, 16-14. Two terminations from the Zips put Akron ahead by four but Pertzborn tallied a solo block to keep it within two, 22-20. UA took the match victory with a kill.

Up Next
Toledo wraps up the 2025 regular season against Akron on Saturday, Nov. 15. First serve is set for 4:00 p.m. with coverage on ESPN+.

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