WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL

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Rockets Stun Bulls in 3-2 Come-From-Behind Win

Jenna Mapé

BUFFALO, NY - The visiting Toledo Rockets used comeback after comeback to finally pull out a gutsy 3-2 win over the University at Buffalo volleyball team Thursday night in Alumni Arena. Game scores were 29-31, 24-30, 30-28, 33-31 and 15-8. Six players reached double digits in kills in the match, three from each team, and the teams combined for a total of 32 blocks, 20 by Buffalo and 12 by Toledo. With the win, the Rockets clinched at least a home first-round Mid-American Conference Tournament match. At 15-10 overall and 8-5 in the conference, they are still in contention for one of four first-round byes.

Game one was a one-point contest with 11 ties early on, the last one coming at 22-22. The Rockets completed a 6-1 run that put them up 27-23, but the Bulls battled back to tie the score once again at 28-28. After junior Lauren Burd (York, PA/Central York) and Toledo's Kate Bean exchanged kills, junior Nikki Morzenti (Safety Harbor, FL/Clearwater) crushed a kill and Burd had a solo block to give the Bulls the 31-29 victory.

Katie Weekley

Buffalo used a 5-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back solo blocks by senior Katie Weekley (Dayton, OH/Chaminade-Julienne) and a block assist by junior Jenna Mapé (Calgary, Alberta/Father Lacombe) and junior Brandie Clark (Medicine Hat, Alberta/Medicine Hat), to jump out to a 14-8 lead in game two. A 4-0 run later put the Bulls up 18-9, and they controlled the remainder of the game en route to the 30-24 final. Mapé had seven kills and Weekley had three solo blocks in the game to lead UB.

With the Bulls leading the match 2-0, the Rockets rallied behind the play of Bean in game three. Buffalo led by as many as five points, 22-17, but a 5-0 Toledo run tied the score at 22-22 and the Rockets then took a 27-26 lead on a block by Kelsey Culver and Chelsey Poquette. A Buffalo attack error later gave the Rockets their final point in the 30-28 win. Bean led Toledo with seven kills in game three.

The Bulls were up early again in game four, leading by scores of 6-2, 16-11 and 18-14. The Rockets battled back to tie the score at 19-19 and then took a 22-21 lead on a block by Culver and Sarah Kreher. A 5-0 Toledo run then gave the Rockets a 28-23 lead, and a kill by Bean later gave them game point at 29-26. However, four Toledo attack errors - one on a solo block by Weekley - tied the score at 29-29. Another kill by Bean was followed by a Toledo service error to move the score to 30-30, and Weekley and Bean then exchanged kills to get to 31-31. Two straight Buffalo attack errors then cost the Bulls the game, giving the Rockets an emotional 33-31 win and forcing a deciding game five.

Lauren Burd

Toledo controlled game five from the start, using runs of 4-1 and 5-0 - highlighted by three straight service aces by Shannon Strachan - to go up 9-4. A later 4-0 run gave the Rockets a 14-6 lead, and they finally ended the match on a solo block by Corrie Magnus.

Mapé finished with a career-high 22 kills in the match to lead all hitters. Morzenti added 19 kills and 16 digs, and Weekley finished with 10 kills and a match-high 10 blocks, including seven solos. Burd added six kills and nine blocks, and Clark finished with eight kills, 15 digs and five blocks. Senior Amy Brown (Pittsburgh, PA/Mt. Lebanon) had 49 assists, four kills, 13 digs and two blocks, and sophomore Lizaiha Garcia (Dayton, OH/Beavercreek) had a match-high 29 digs.

Bean led Toledo with 20 kills and 20 digs, while Culver added 14 kills and a team-high eight blocks. Poquette finished with 15 kills, and libero Lora Sarich tied for the team lead with 20 digs.

The Bulls (10-17 overall, 2-11 MAC) are next in action Saturday at 7 pm, hosting Akron in Alumni Arena.