TOLEDO, Ohio – Toledo volleyball Head Coach Brian Wright picked up his first win as head coach of the Rockets with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-20) sweep of UAlbany on Friday night in Savage Arena.

The Rockets (1-0) were led by redshirt sophomore middle blocker Sierra Pertzborn with 10 kills on a .563 clip, a career-best nine blocks and two service aces. Sophomore right side hitter Olivia Heitkamp poured in nine kills, while seniors Anna Alford and Sophie Catalano added six kills each.

Senior setter Kelsey Smith tallied 32 assists, four blocks and three kills, and sophomore libero Grace Freiberger led the squad with 11 digs. Freshman outside hitter Jessica Costlow made her collegiate debut, totaling six digs and three kills.

The Rockets outhit the Great Danes by a .372-.035 margin and totaled 44 kills to go along with four service aces.

Quoting Head Coach Brian Wright
"Tonight was amazing, what a great start to the season. The crowd and the environment was electric. It was fun to see our team play the way we see ourselves practice every single day. We work hard to be great consistently and even with the possible nerves that can come with playing at home in front of fans in a first match of the year, we just let ourselves play and a lot of great came from it. Kelsey did a really good job of keeping balance in our offense and our block and defense were locked in as well. We look forward to the chance to prepare and play again in front of another great home crowd tomorrow."

Key Moments

• In the first set, Toledo put together a 7-1 run to get ahead. The Rockets then rattled off four straight points, including a block from Sierra Pertzborn and Kelsey Smith, to take the set win.
• Pertzborn fired off a six-point run from behind the service line in the second set to give Toledo an early advantage. The Rockets never relinquished the lead and held the Great Danes to a .095 hitting percentage in the set.
• Two kills from Brooke Naniseni helped the Rockets score seven consecutive points and take control of the third set. Albany clawed back to get within four points, 22-18, but kills from Anna Alford and Iremnur Elmas allowed Toledo to win the match.

Up Next
Toledo continues play at the Rocket Invitational Presented by Delta Hotels by Marriott with a matchup against Saint Francis. First serve is set for 6:00 p.m. with coverage on ESPN+.

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