TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo women's volleyball team tallied its second-straight win with a 3-1 (25-17, 21-25, 25-19, 25-13) defeat over Saint Francis in Savage Arena on Saturday night.

Toledo (2-0) fired off 17 service aces as a squad, tying the mark for the most aces in a single match since Sept. 21, 2019 when they totaled 18 against North Alabama. Five Rockets tallied two or more service aces, led by graduate outside hitter Iremnur Elmas with a career-best five aces. Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Sierra Pertzborn added a career-high four aces.

Sophomore right side hitter Olivia Heitkamp led the Rockets' offense, totaling 11 kills while freshman outside hitter Jessica Costlow poured in seven kills to go along with three service aces. Junior outside hitter Brooke Naniseni added a career-best six kills and four blocks.

Senior setter Kelsey Smith recorded her first double-double as a Rocket, posting 31 assists and 11 digs to go along with four kills and two blocks. This marks Smith's 12th career double-double. Sophomore libero Grace Freiberger led the Toledo defense, totaling 14 digs and chipping in two service aces.

The Rockets outhit the Red Flash on Saturday and held them to a .053 hitting percentage, including two sets with negative clips.

Quoting Head Coach Brian Wright
"It was another fun night in Savage! I loved the way we played our best volleyball after dropping the second set. From that point on, our serving and defense really picked up. We stayed locked in to the game plan while also improving execution. Really proud of the effort and togetherness tonight."

Key Moments

• Two kills from Jessica Costlow and two aces from Sierra Pertzborn put Toledo in front, 23-15, in the first set. Terminations from Brooke Naniseni and Kelsey Smith secured a 25-17 set win.
• Back-to-back aces from Iremnur Elmas in the second set put Toledo ahead, 12-9. Saint Francis took a four-point lead, 19-15, but the Rockets regained control with kills from Olivia Heitkamp and an ace from Grace Freiberger. The Red Flash fired off two kills and took the set victory.
• A 5-0 run by the Rockets in the third set gave Toledo a 9-5 advantage. Kills from Olivia Heitkamp and Naniseni kept the Rockets in front, 17-11. A termination from Pertzborn secured set point and put Toledo ahead 2-1 in the match.
• The Rockets jumped out to an 11-5 lead thanks to three kills from Heitkamp and an Elmas ace in the fourth set. A 7-0 surge put Toledo at match point, 24-10, before a Saint Francis service error gave the Rockets the win.

Up Next
Toledo wraps up the Rocket Invitational presented by Delta Hotels by Marriott against Robert Morris on Sunday, Aug. 31. First serve from Savage Arena is set for 2:00 p.m. with coverage on ESPN+.

Follow the Rockets
Instagram: Toledo_VB
Twitter/X: Toledo_VB
Facebook: Toledo Volleyball