Women's Volleyball

FLY THE FLAG: Toledo Earns 3-2 Victory at West Virginia

Story courtesy of Toledo's Athletic Communications Department

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The Toledo women's volleyball team closed out the West Virginia Invitational by picking up a 3-0 sweep (25-15, 25-21, 25-16) over VCU and a 3-2 win (20-25, 25-21, 25-14, 20-25, 15-11) over West Virginia on Friday.

The win over West Virginia is the Rockets' (7-1) first win over a 'Power 4' school since Aug. 28, 2022 when UT defeated Arizona State, 3-0. This also marks the program's 11th all-time win over the Big 12.

Sophie Catalano led the Toledo offense against the Mountaineers, firing off a career-high 20 kills on a .439 clip. Kayla Ozanich added in 13 kills of her own on a career-best .684 hitting percentage while Ava Siefke poured in 13 terminations.

Janelle Green tallied a career-best 37 assists to help the Rockets post an overall hitting percentage of .319 for the match, marking the fourth match this season with a .300 clip or higher. Green also added 19 digs to tally her second double-double of the day and third of the season after posting 15 helpers and 10 digs against the Rams.

In the sweep over VCU, Jessica Costlow paced the squad with 14 kills while Ozanich chipped in 11 terminations. Freshman Audrey Dyas had a career-best 10 kills on a .600 hitting percentage to go with a team-high five blocks. Grace Freiberger recorded 20 digs for the first time this season, while Maddy Bach tallied a team-best 25 assists.

The Rockets held VCU to a .052 hitting percentage for the entire contest, including a .000 clip in the first set.

Quoting Head Coach Brian Wright
"Today was a great day. Two big-time wins with only three hours in between matches. So many people stepped up in different moments and we really had our depth on full display. Proud of the fight of this team coming off a short break and locking into a new game plan to handle a five-set battle on the road. Two really good wins for us today. This is a tough, resilient group that believes in each other and plays together."

Key Moments vs. VCU
  • Toledo used an early 3-0 run, highlighted by a block from Sophie Catalano and Audrey Dyas, to take a 6-2 lead in the first set. Two kills from Olivia Heitkamp extended UT's lead, 13-4, before VCU went on a 5-1 run of their own to close the gap, 14-9. Kills from Jessica Costlow and Dyas kept the Rockets ahead, 21-14, before a string of VCU errors gave Toledo the set win.
  • The Rockets and Rams traded points through the early portion of the second set before UT strung together a 6-0 run, highlighted by a block from Kayla Ozanich and Heitkamp and an ace from Maddy Bach, for a 13-9 lead. Avery Adamski tallied a kill to keep UT in front by four, 21-17, before VCU was able to cut the lead to two, 22-20. An error by the Rams put Toledo at set point, 24-20, and Catalano hammered home a kill to win the set.
  • Kills from Ava Siefke and Ozanich gave Toledo an early 7-1 lead in the third set. Back-to-back blocks from Dyas kept UT in front, 12-4, before two kills from Costlow pushed the Rockets' lead to double figures, 15-5. Meg Jarrett fired off an ace to extend the lead, 21-9, before the Rams cut the lead back to 10 with a pair of blocks, 23-13. Dyas put UT at match point with a kill, 24-14, before Siefke tallied a termination of her own to secure the victory.
Key Moments vs. West Virginia
  • Toledo took an early 5-2 lead in the first set with kills from Catalano and Siefke. West Virginia strung together two 3-0 runs to take an 11-8 advantage, before a kill from Dyas evened the set, 17-17. Three quick kills from the Mountaineers put WVU back in front, 20-17. Costlow put UT within one with a kill, 21-20, but West Virginia used a string of kills and an ace to take the set win.
  • The Rockets and Mountaineers traded points to start the second set. UT rattled off a 4-0 run, highlighted by a solo block from Sierra Pertzborn, to give the Rockets an 8-5 lead. Kills from Siefke and Janelle Green kept Toledo ahead, 15-10, and an ace from Costlow pushed UT's lead to six, 19-13. Dyas tallied a solo block to keep Toledo in front, 23-17, before WVU had three quick points to get within three, 23-20. Catalano fired off her ninth kill of the night to get the set win.
  • Ozanich fired off a kill to put Toledo in front 6-2 early in the third set. Siefke and Dyas added their own terminations to send Toledo on a 4-0 run to extend its lead, 13-5. An ace from Ozanich pushed UT's advantage to 10, 21-11, and Siefke put the Rockets at set point with a kill, 24-13. Dyas secured the set victory with a kill.
  • Pertzborn and Ozanich combined for a block to take an early 5-2 lead in the fourth set. West Virginia responded with a 5-0 run to go in front, 10-6, before kills from Catalano and Ozanich put Toledo back within two, 15-13. Catalano evened the set with her 15th kill, 16-16, before WVU regained the slight advantage, 20-18. The Mountaineers took the set win on a 4-0 run.
  • Kills from Siefke and Costlow put Toledo in front to begin the fifth set, 4-2. WVU evened the set with a kill, 5-5, before UT used three-straight points to take a 9-6 lead. Pertzborn fired off a kill to keep Toledo in front by three, 11-8, before two kills from the Mountaineers put them within two, 13-11. Catalano recorded her 20th kill of the night to reach match point, 14-11, before Costlow secured the match victory with a final termination.
Up Next
Toledo returns home to host Missouri on Friday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. at Savage Arena. Retro Toledo Rockets t-shirts will be given away to the first 250 fans.