BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Fueled by freshman Taylor Alt's 28 kills, the University of Toledo women's volleyball team won a thrilling five-set battle at Bowling Green on Tuesday night to end the Falcons' perfect season.
 
"One thing about this matchup is that we want to make it a battle every time," head coach Jason Oliver said. "Both teams played great. We saw some really, really good volleyball tonight. We've been preaching to our team that big-time players make big-time plays, and they have been grinding all season long. To come in here and beat the No. 1 team in the conference on the road the way we just did says a lot about our character and how much potential we have."
 
Toledo (6-12) played well early and won the first set to take a 1-0 lead over Bowling Green (18-1), but dropped sets two and three to fall behind in the match. After winning the fourth set, the Rockets found themselves tied with the Falcons at 9-9 in the fifth set before ending the night on a 6-2 run to claim the match and their first win at Bowling Green since 2010.
 
Alt was outstanding for the Rockets, contributing a match-high 28 kills and 15 digs, her fourth straight match with at least 20 kills and her fourth double-double in the last five contests. Alt's 28 terminations are tied for third most in a match in program history and one shy of her career high she set earlier this season. The Ottawa, Ohio native registered eight kills in the fourth set, helping push Toledo into a fifth set.
 
Freshman Payton Morman set a career high with 61 assists, and both sophomore Rhyenne Filisi and senior Chloee Kleespies collected career-high block totals, tallying eight and seven stuffs, respectively. Sophomore Ryann Jaqua added 31 digs, her fourth 30-plus dig performance of the year. Sophomore Olivia Vance was excellent on both ends, registering 17 kills and hitting .500 while adding four blocks.
 
Toledo visits Akron this weekend to conclude its 2021 season this weekend.

Western Michigan 3, Northern Illinois 0
Boxscore

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team took care of business quickly on Tuesday night inside University Arena, blanking Northern Illinois (25-13, 25-18, 25-23) to complete the season sweep of the Huskies.
 
Western Michigan never trailed until the first point of the third set and registered a stellar .376 hitting percentage to NIU's .211. The Broncos had six players earn at least two kills and two record double-digit kills.
 
With the win the Broncos have now won nine of their last 10 matches and clinched the No.2 seed in the upcoming Mid-American Conference Tournament. The MAC West champions have an overall and MAC record of 15-4 this season, tied for the fourth most MAC wins in school history and the most since 2015.
 
Leading the way for the Broncos with her ninth match in a row in double figures was sophomore Maggie King with 13 kills. King also had a .250 hitting percentage against the Huskies to go along with one dig and one block.
 
Behind King was senior Rachel Bontrager with 12 kills and a .370 hitting percentage. Bontrager has registered double digit kills in 16 straight matches while adding six digs, two blocks and one service ace. Junior Meredith Phillips ranked third on WMU with eight kills and a team-high .500 hitting percentage.
 
Defensively WMU was led by senior Kaley Smith who tallied a team-high 10 digs. Along with her 10 digs Smith recorded three assists and one service ace. Reigning three-time MAC West Setter of the Week Logan Case paced the Broncos with 40 assists to go along with eight digs and one block. It's the seventh straight match for Case with at least 40 assists.
 
Rounding out the kills for WMU was Charley Andrews with seven, Cassandra Smigiel with six and Case with three.  At the net the Broncos registered four blocks while behind the line WMU had five service aces to NIU's one.
 
Western Michigan concludes its regular season at home this weekend, March 26-27 against Kent State. WMU will then head to the MAC Tournament hosted by Bowling Green, April 2-3.

Central Michigan 3, Eastern Michigan 1
Boxscore
YPSILANTI, Mich. -- A crucial game for the Chippewa volleyball team and an outcome that keeps CMU in the hunt.
 
Savannah Thompson had 15 kills on a .244 hitting percentage on Tuesday, leading the Chippewas to a 25-15, 16-25, 25-19, 25-16 victory over Eastern Michigan at the Eagles' Convocation Center.
 
The Chippewas improved to 11-9 as they remain in the hunt for a berth in the league tournament next week. They also avenged last week's five-set loss to the Eagles (7-11).
 
CMU is set to welcome Miami (Ohio) for a two-match set this weekend. The RedHawks are 11-8 and are one of the Chippewas' chief rivals for a spot in the league tourney.
 
"We still have some work to do, but I feel like we took a good step forward today," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "More than anything, we have to focus on the last two matches of the season to give us better odds (of a tournament berth)."
 
The Chippewas and RedHawks are scheduled to play at McGuirk Arena on Friday (6 p.m.) and on Saturday (2 p.m.).

Buffalo 3, Akron 1
Boxscore

AKRON, OH – The University at Buffalo volleyball team put on a show Tuesday night in Akron as multiple players fell just shy of school records in a 3-1 victory over the Zips.
 
Buffalo took the contest 25-22, 25-20, 24-26, 25-21 as UB hit .333 for the match, opposed to .237 for Akron.
 
Freshman Milla Malik had a match-high 23 kills in the victory, the second straight four-set match in which she had 23 kills.  That total is also just four shy of the school record for kills in a four-set match.
 
Junior setter Kyndal Bacon finished with 56 assists in the match, averaging 14.00 per set, a total that is also just four shy of the school record.  Sophomore Jenna Sonnenberg had a career-high 28 digs, a mark that is just five short of the Buffalo record.
 
Bacon had 13 assists in the opening set as five players had multiple kills in the first, leading the Bulls to the early lead. Neither team led by more than four points in the first.
 
The Bulls dominated the second set offensively, hitting .382.  The offensive performance was led by Malik who had seven kills on nine swings, hitting .778 for the set.  Buffalo trailed 15-13 when it responded with five straight points as a kill from Malik gave the Bulls an 18-15 lead. A kill from Monika Simkova clinched the set.
 
Buffalo led 11-6 in the third set following a kill from Courtney Okwara, but the Zips would tie it up at 16-16.  The set remained tied at 21-21 and the Bulls would ultimately fight of two sets points before Akron stayed alive with the 26-24 win.
 
In the fourth set, Bacon dished out 16 assists as the Bulls hit .372 with 21 kills and just five errors.  Malik had eight kills in the set, while fellow freshman Emma Gielas had six of her 14 kills in the fourth. The set was tied 15-15 at the midway point when a kill from Gielas capped off a 5-1 run. Akron would pull back within two but kills from Gielas and senior Lexi Nordmann clinched the set and the match.
 
Three players finished in double figures in kills led by Malik's 23 as she hit .500 on the night. Gielas added 14 kills, while Nordmann finished with 12 kills and just one error as she hit .440.
 
Simkova had seven kills, while Okwara finished with six kills and no errors as she hit .462. In addition to Bacon's 56 assists, the junior added two kills and five digs. Malik had two service aces, while Simkova added one.
 
Defensively, the 28 digs for Sonnenberg was a new career high. Simkova had 11 digs, while Malik and sophomore Abby Leigh each had seven.
 
Buffalo finished with 8.0 total blocks led by six from Nordmann and five from Gielas.
 
Tuesday night's match was UB's final road contest of the season.  The Bulls will close out the regular season this weekend with a pair of matches against league-leading Bowling Green.  That begins Friday night at 6pm.

Miami 3, Ball State 2
Boxscore

OXFORD, Ohio—In a gritty five-set battle where four sets were decided by three or fewer points, the Miami University volleyball team pulled out a 25-13, 23-25, 23-25, 25-22, 15-13 win against Ball State University on Tuesday night at Millett Hall. Miami picked up a key win to move to 11-8 on the season and in Mid-American Conference play, while the Cardinals dropped to 8-11.

Ohio 3, Kent State 1
Boxscore
ATHENS, Ohio -- The Ohio volleyball team (10-7, 10-7 MAC) celebrated the senior night of setter Vera Giacomazzi (San Vendemiano, Italy) with a 3-1 (25-23, 25-13, 24-26, 25-23) win over Kent State on Tuesday (March 23) in the Convocation Center.
 
"I am just so happy that we were able to earn that win tonight for our program, but really, earn the win for Vera," shared head coach Dean Webb. "It let her be honored in a way that she deserves. She had an outstanding career, and I am just proud and happy for her that this win could happen tonight."
 
It was an emotional night, but that did not stop Giacomazzi from having an outstanding performance on her senior night. Leading the match in assists and securing yet another double-double, Giacomazzi tallied 47 assists with 10 digs and two block assists.
 
"This team was basically my life for the past four years," expressed Giacomazzi when asked what the team meant to her. "When you move so far away from your family, these people take care of you and you start learning how to take care of them. Bonds create and there are going to be highs and lows, tears and laughs, but I share everything with them. They make you grow, and you make them grow. I would not make a different decision ever if I could go back. I would never ever make a different decision."
 
The Bobcats definitely made sure to take care of Giacomazzi on the court. Junior outside hitter Mariana Rodrigues (Santana De Parnaiba, Brazil) was one of four Bobcats to achieve double-digit kills, recording a match-high 18, while senior middle blocker Tia Jimerson (Sugar Hill, Ga.) followed with 16 and a team-high clip of .355. Jimerson added six total blocks (two solid and four assists) and five digs. Redshirt freshman Caitlin O'Farrell (Suwanee, Ga.) posted 12 kills and three block assists of her own
 
Freshman defensive specialist/libero Sam Steele (Omaha, Neb.) was just shy of a double-double with 10 digs and eight assists. Senior libero/defensive specialist Macy Reihing (Lexington, Ky.) reached the double-digits with 13 digs while freshman defensive specialist/libero Maci Watrous (Coppell, Texas) was just shy with 9 digs for the Bobcats.
 
In the first set, Kent State started the match strong with a 3-0 run over the Bobcats. Despite the circumstances, Ohio bounced back and was able to win the set, 25-23. Ohio kept the momentum going in the second set and attacked at a .417 clip while the Golden Flashes were only able to hit a mere .097. However, Kent State rallied back in the third set to keep the Bobcats on their toes. The Golden Flashes concluded with a 6-0 run to take the set, 26-24. Ohio and Kent State battled it out the fourth, but the Bobcats ultimately prevailed to close out the home portion of their 2021 spring schedule with a victory.
 
Ohio will close out the regular season with a visit to DeKalb, Ill., to take on Northern Illinois in a pair of matches this weekend, with the first set for Friday (March 26) at 4 p.m. ET.