Women's Volleyball

FLY THE FLAG: Toledo Tames the Tigers in 5 Sets

Recap cutesy of Toledo's Athletic Communications Department

TOLEDO, Ohio – A near-record crowd saw the Toledo women's volleyball team (8-1) knock off a 'Power 4' school for a second-straight match on Friday night with a 3-2 (25-17, 25-21, 22-25, 14-25, 15-10) victory over Southeastern Conference foe Missouri (6-4) in Savage Arena.

The Rockets' win over the Tigers in front of 2,048 fans – the third-highest attendance in program history - was the program's fourth victory ever against an SEC school and the first since defeating Auburn in Ann Arbor, Mich. in 2008.

Ava Siefke paced the Toledo offense against Mizzou with 14 kills. Kayla Ozanich tallied 12 terminations, a .310 hitting mark and a team-high three blocks, with Jessica Costlow collecting 10 kills and a team-best 21 digs.

Maddy Bach and Janelle Green split the setting duties for the Rockets  and dished out 25 and 24 assists, respectively.

Quoting Head Coach Brian Wright
"What a night for Toledo Volleyball! So grateful for the amazing turnout and crowd - the energy was a huge help tonight. I'm proud of the fight our team displayed start to finish. We talk a lot about being consistently great and when you're in a two-and-a-half hour battle, you never know which parts of the match will be the reason you win. Missouri did a great job making us uncomfortable late in the 3rd and 4th sets. I really liked the way we continued to learn and played with a great presence and IQ in the 5th. This team battles every day - and I'm so grateful to share a moment like this with our city, fans and university!

Key Moments vs. Missouri
  • Toledo led for nearly the entire first set and took an 11-6 lead on a Jessica Costlow kill. The Tigers fought back to within three before a Kayla Ozanich kill and a block from Ozanich and Costlow put the Rockets up 18-12. Ava Siefke's kill closed out the set for Toledo.
  • The Rockets fell behind 12-4 in Set 2 before a 6-1 spurt cut the Tigers' margin to 13-10. UT tied the score at 14-14 with a Siefke kill. Three Grace Freiberger aces and another Siekfe kill gave the Rockets a 19-15 advantage. A Missouri attack error gave Toledo a 2-0 lead in the match.
  • Neither team led by more than three points in Set 3 with the Tigers holding the upperhand for the majority of the set until Avery Adamski's ace capped off a four-point Rocket run for an 18-15 lead. Missouri stayed alive with a late rally, scoring the set's last four points for a 25-22 victory.
  • The Tigers took that momentum into Set 4 and surged to a 12-4 lead. Toledo rallied to within 15-13 on a Sophie Catalano kill but was unable to come any closer in a 25-14 loss.
  • The Rockets turned the tables on the Tigers in the final set, jumping out to a 5-1 lead and never looking back. Ozanich topped UT in the final set with four kills and a .800 hitting mark.
Up Next
Toledo will now have a quick turnaround when it returns to action tomorrow morning to host Dayton in Savage Arena at 11 a.m.