Creighton University
Toledo
Volleyball Drops Five-Set Match to Toledo
9/10/2010 3:04:00 PM | Volleyball
MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- Toledo got 22 kills and 17 digs from Amber DeWeerdt, including a match-clinching kill, as the Rockets defeated Creighton in a five-set match to open the Marquette Invitational on Friday afternoon. Scores of the match in favor of UT were 21-25, 26-24, 25-15, 23-25, 15-13.
Creighton senior Alicia Runge matched DeWeerdt with 22 kills to pace the Bluejays, who fell to 3-5 on the year and 0-2 in five-set contests. Toledo upped its record to 5-2, which includes a five-set win over No. 12 Michigan on Aug. 28.
Creighton won the first set, 25-21, behind a red-hot start from Runge. Runge had kills on her first five swings and finished the set wtih seven putaways. Toledo would draw within one point at 19-18 and 22-21, only to be done in by service errors each time. Back-to-back kills by Laurel Sanford gave the Jays the first set triumph.
Toledo tied the match with a 26-24 second set victory. Creighton overcame an early 9-3 deficit to take a 16-14 lead, only to surrender seven of the next eight points to fall behind 21-17. The Jays would rally with a 5-1 run and tie the score at 22, 23 and 24, before Dakota Harkins put down consecutive kills to clinch the set for the Rockets. Toledo had 32 digs in the second set to help offset 12 attack errors.
Toledo proved unstoppable in the third set to win 25-15 and take a 2-1 lead in the match. Toledo had 16 kills while hitting .429, while also limiting the Bluejay offense to six kills and -.032 hitting. The Jays actually led 8-5 early before UT embarked on a 14-2 surge to put the set out of contention.
Just when it looked like Creighton was cruising to a fourth-set victory to tie the match, Toledo threw a major scare into the Jays. Creighton almost the entire way, including 20-13, before the Rockets put together an 8-0 run fueled by six Bluejay attack errors. Creighton actually trailed 23-21 late before consecutive Toledo errors were followed by two straight kills from Megan Bober to win the fourth set, 25-23.
The fifth set featured nine ties and four lead changes. Creighton owned its largest lead at 11-9, but UT answered with the next two points to tie the score at 11. After trading sideouts to even the score for the final time at 12, UT would scored three of the final four points to claim the win, capped by a DeWeerdt kill off of a Bluejay block.
Runge led Creighton with 22 kills on .304 hitting in 56 swings, but she would be the only player with more than nine kills for CU. Bober added her fourth double-double of the year with 41 assists and 11 digs to go with six kills and five blocks. Creighton finished with 56 kills, two aces, 74 digs adn 11 blocks while hittng .126.
UT was paced by 22 kills and 17 digs by DeWeerdt. Lauren Rafdal had 15 kills to aid DeWeerdt in a balanced effort. Katie Westerfeld had 23 digs for UT to lead a scrappy defensive effort that produced 99 digs. Toledo had 68 kills, three aces and 10 blocks while hitting .183.
Creighton returns to action tonight at 7:30 pm with a contest against tournament host Marquette. That match can be heard on KOIL (1180 AM), with free live stats, video and audio links available through http://www.gocreighton.com.
