TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo women's volleyball team swept Kent State 3-0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-17) on Thursday evening to open the Mid-American Conference portion of the season. The win moves Toledo's overall record to 10-3 (1-0 MAC), tying the best start to a season in program history. Toledo also began the 2002 and 2004 seasons with a 10-3 mark.
The Rockets have now won their last four matches and 12 consecutive sets. The 3-0 victory marks the seventh match Toledo has won this season by a score of 3-0.Â
Freshman
Jessica Costlow led the Rockets' offense, totaling 11 kills on a .474 clip, and adding 12 digs for the third double-double of her career. Senior
Sophie Catalano poured in nine kills while
Sierra Pertzborn added eight terminations and three blocks, including a solo shot to win the match.
Senior setter
Kelsey Smith tallied 36 assists, nine digs and two digs. Sophomore libero
Grace Freiberger led the squad on defense with 16 digs, recording her 11
th match this season with double-figure digs.
Quoting Coach Wright
"It was so much fun to be back home in Savage. I was really impressed with the team's mental resiliency tonight. After a back-and-forth first set, we continued to stay locked in on the game plan and both our offensive and defensive execution steadily improved. It's great to start the MAC off with a win. Time to turn around and get ready for another high-level MAC match tomorrow."
Key Moments
- Kent State jumped out to a 7-4 lead in the first set but an ace from Macy Medors and kill from Olivia Heitkamp allowed Toledo to take the lead, 15-13. After trading points, the Golden Flashes took a slight advantage. Heitkamp fired off three kill to put Toledo back in front and at set point, 24-21. Kayla Ozanich entered the game and recorded a kill and a block to help Toledo take the set win.
- Sierra Pertzborn had back-to-back blocks at the beginning of the second set to put Toledo ahead, 8-7. The Rockets extended their lead, 15-12, behind kills from Jessica Costlow and Sophie Catalano. An error from Kent State pushed Toledo's lead, 20-14, before a kill from Catalano allowed the Rockets to reach set point. Pertzborn hammered home a kill to put Toledo ahead two sets to none.
- Five straight points from the Rockets put Toledo ahead in the third frame, 7-2. Kent State used a 5-1 run to tie the match, 14-14, but Toledo fired off a 3-0 run of their own to get back in front, 19-15. Costlow helped the Rockets reach set point with a kill, 24-17, and a solo block from Pertzborn secured the 3-0 win.
Up Next
Toledo closes out MAC opening weekend hosting Ohio on Friday, Sept. 26 at 6:00 p.m. Coverage will be on ESPN+.
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