Toledo Takes Down Ball State, 3-1

Friday, October 2

Toledo, Ohio

6 p.m.

University of Toledo

11-2,3-0MAC

Ball State

11-3,2-1MAC

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Ball St.	19	18	25	16	1
Toledo	25	25	16	25	3

Toledo posted its first home win over Ball State since Feb. 4, 2020 with a 3-1 decision over the Cardinals on Friday.

Photo by: Bree Bee

10/2/2026 8:57:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Sophie Catalano leads Rockets with 11 kills in third-straight MAC win

TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo women's volleyball team handed Ball State its first Mid-American Conference loss of the season with a 3-1 victory (25-19, 25-18, 16-25, 25-16) on Friday night at Savage Arena.

The win marks UT's first victory over Ball State at home since Feb. 4, 2020 when Toledo posted a 3-2 win.

Prior to the start of the match, Toledo the jersey of Rocket great Taylor Alt. Alt is the MAC all-time leader in kills with 2,137 terminations and is the first UT volleyball player to have their jersey retired.

The Rockets (11-2, 3-0 MAC) had three players total double figure kills with Sophie Catalano leading the way with 11. Sierra Pertzborn and Kayla Ozanich each poured in 10 terminations of their own while Ozanich added in a team-high five blocks.

Three Rockets had double-figure digs led by Grace Freiberger with a team-best 19 digs to go with two service aces. Maddy Bach fired off 24 assists while Janelle Green had 17 assists and 12 digs for her fifth double-double of the season.

Toledo's defense held Ball State to 44 kills on a .169 hitting percentage, including a .043 clip in the decisive fourth set.

Quoting Head Coach Brian Wright
"Tonight was a great battle between two very good volleyball teams. I liked some of the decisions we made in the first set and a half that made them uncomfortable. Our setters did a great job running a balanced offense. I'm always impressed by Ball State's ability to adjust in these back-to-back match scenarios. Both teams will be ready to fight hard and get after it again tomorrow! Excited for this opportunity for our fans to see back-to-back nights of high level volleyball in Savage."

Key Moments

Toledo jumped out to an 11-8 lead in the first set thanks to a block from Kayla Ozanich and Sierra Pertzborn. Ball State responded with three points of their own to even the set, 11-11, before UT used a 7-1 run to regain the lead, 21-17. Lilly Merk fired off back-to-back kills to take the set win.
Ball State held an early 6-2 lead in the second set before Toledo used a quick 4-1 run to even the contest on an ace from Janelle Green. After trading points, UT fired off an 11-1 run, capped off by an Ozanich ace, to take control of the set, 23-16. Pertzborn put UT at set point, 24-18, before Sophie Catalano secured the set victory.
The Cardinals and the Rockets went back-and-forth in the third set before Ball State fired off an 11-2 run to fully take control of the set and run away with the set win.
After trading points, Toledo strung together an 8-1 run that put them ahead in the fourth set for good, 16-10. A kill from Maddy Bach extended UT's advantage to seven, 19-12, before Lilly Merk closed the match with a kill.