Women's Volleyball

Toledo Leaves with 3-1 Victory Over Buffalo

Recap courtesy of Toledo's Athletic Communications Department

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Toledo women's volleyball team closed out the first weekend of Mid-American Conference play with a 3-1 road victory (26-28, 25-20, 25-17, 25-17) over Buffalo on Sunday afternoon.

The Rockets (10-2, 2-0 MAC) saw four players reach double-digit kills, led by Ava Siefke with 14 terminations on a .417 clip. Sierra Pertzborn added in 13 kills, while Jessica Costlow had 12 kills with only one error on a .407 hitting percentage to go along with 12 digs for her fourth double-double of the season. Kayla Ozanich chipped in 10 kills of her own to go a team-high three blocks.

Maddy Bach paced the team with 22 assists and 14 digs for her fourth double-double of the year. Grace Freiberger added in 11 digs and 11 assists, while Janelle Green poured in 21 helpers.

The Rockets tallied a team hitting percentage of .326, including a .533 clip in the third set. This is the fifth contest of the season where UT has hit over .300.

Key Moments
  • The Rockets and Bulls traded points to begin the first set before UT fired off a 6-1 run to take a 15-10 lead. Kills from Audrey Dyas and Sophie Catalano put UT ahead, 19-13, before Buffalo used a 5-1 run of its own to get within one, 20-19. Both sides went back-and-forth, with Catalano putting the Rockets at set point, 26-25, before Buffalo fired off three-straight points to take the set win, 28-26.
  • Toledo took a 6-3 lead in the second set before Buffalo used a 7-1 run to get in front, 10-7. UT responded with a 9-2 run of its own, highlighted by a solo block from Kayla Ozanich and four kills from Ava Siefke, to retake the lead, 19-14. Buffalo closed the gap to two with four quick points, 20-18, before two kills from Costlow gave the Rockets the set win.
  • UT used a quick 3-0 run to take a 12-9 lead in the third set. A solo block from Ozanich extended Toledo's advantage to 20-13, and the Rockets reached set point with a Buffalo error. Lilly Merk hammered home a kill to get the set victory.
  • The Rockets jumped out to an early 7-3 lead in the fourth set behind kills from Siefke and Olivia Heitkamp. Buffalo battled back to even the set, 9-9, before both teams went back-and-forth. An ace from Maddy Bach and a kill from Pertzborn put Toledo back in front, 20-16, before another kill from Pertzborn kept UT ahead by six, 23-17. The Rockets closed out the match with a kill from Ozanich and a block from Pertzborn and Ozanich for the win.
Up Next
Toledo will return home to host Ball State (11-2, 2-0 MAC) for a pair of conference matches on Friday-Saturday, Oct. 2-3. Taylor Alt's jersey retirement ceremony will be prior to first serve on Friday, Oct. 2, at 6 p.m.