Volleyball drops two matches over the weekend

COURTESY OF UT ATHLETICS

Justice Sunderland, Sports Co-Editor

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The Toledo volleyball team dropped two matches this weekend on the road. On Friday, they were swept by Western Michigan and on Saturday they lost a five-set battle against division leader Northern Illinois. The Rockets are now 10-8 and 3-3 in Mid-American Conference play.

On Friday, UT could not keep pace offensively with the Broncos, who posted a .458 attack percent in the second set, then raised it to .529 in the final set.

The Toledo defense was led by second-year Maurissa Leonard, who recorded 15 digs. The offense was spearheaded by third-year Annie Beasley and third-year Saige Thomas with seven and five kills, respectively.

“It just wasn’t our night. Western Michigan played very well and was the better team tonight,” said head coach Greg Smith.

Both teams came out a little tight, committing multiple errors early. WMU scored three straight in a row, however, to take a 10-4 lead.

UT tried to keep it close but could not keep up to pace. Two errors by Thomas started a 6-0 run for the Broncos, extending their lead to 19-8.

The Rockets battled back, however, taking six of the next seven to cut the lead down to just six. They could not hold off WMU though, who executed very well to finish off the set 25-16.

The Broncos carried that momentum into the next set, jumping to an early 10-2 lead. UT could not recover from that poor start, managing only seven points in the set. Western Michigan began to hit on all cylinders rattling off the last 11 points to take the set 25-7.

UT was ready to try and extend the match by keeping it close but fell behind early 8-4. Both offenses were scoring well in the set, exchanging points.

The match remained close until the Broncos scored five straight to take a 19-11 lead and forced a Toledo timeout. The Rockets battled but began to trade points again. They lost the set 25-17, which ended the match.

UT attempted to bounce back on Saturday but fell short in the final set against Northern Illinois. Thomas was the leader of the offense with a team-high 18 kills. Second-year Gracey Tuifua added 12 terminations of her own.

The defense was very balanced with Leonard leading the way with 25 digs. Fourth-year Maggie Johnston was next with 15 digs and third-year Lauren Bakitis added 11.

“We played a tough match and did a lot of great things tonight,” said Smith. “I’m proud of the team for bouncing back from last night’s loss. It was unfortunate that we came out on the other side tonight.”
The Rockets struggled to catch any rhythm early on the second day too, falling behind 12-5. The teams began to trade points, with Toledo getting no closer than five.

Then the Huskies took the last five points, including three errors by UT, to win the first set 25-14.

In the second set, Northern Illinois took an early three-point lead, but the Rockets battled back to take a 10-8 lead. The teams traded points until the score was all even at 15.

Toledo rattled off four straight points to force a Huskie timeout. Northern Illinois tried to come back and take the set, but UT finished them off with solid execution offensively. They won the set 25-19.

Both teams traded the lead early in the third set until the Huskies scored four in a row to take a three-point lead, forcing Toledo into a timeout.

The Huskies took off, going on an 8-1 run taking a 21-12 lead. Toledo could not make up the deficit as the Northern Illinois executed their offense three times to win the set.

Once again, the teams traded points early in the fourth set. The Huskies took a three-point lead 10-7, forcing Toledo into a timeout.

The Rockets trailed almost the entire set until they scored three straight to take a 20-18 lead. The teams traded points, which was not good for the Huskies; UT won the set 25-21 to force a final set.

Northern Illinois took the first lead on two good offense plays. UT scored three of four, however, to cut the lead to just one, 11-12.

Saige Thomas scored to tie the game at 14. But an error and a kill gave Northern Illinois the 16-14 win and a victory to keep their record perfect in Conference play.

The midnight blue and gold return to Scott Park this Friday, Oct. 14. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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Volleyball drops two matches over the weekend