The Toledo Rockets defeated the Western Michigan Broncos in the MAC Championship game on Sunday at the Stroh Center, winning in four sets, 3-1.
Coming into the match, both teams were battle-tested. Toledo had just beaten the number-one-seeded Ball State the day before, in a thrilling five-set matchup. Western Michigan had dispatched BGSU in four sets.
Western Michigan finished the regular season with a 13-5 conference record, and they showed that dominance early.
Toledo, in a sense, had overachieved; despite entering the postseason as the fourth seed under first-year head coach Brian Wright, they had earned a spot on a big stage.
Both squads had loud fan sections, although Rocket fans outnumbered Bronco fans.
Given Western’s aggressiveness, Toledo had to play a defensive game in the first set. Rocket libero Grace Freiberger aided with this, logging 23 digs on the day.
Early on, the Broncos looked like the better team in almost every phase of the game. They found multiple ways to score: strong spikedown kills, blocks at the net, light touches to put the ball in empty spots on Toledo’s floor. When the Rocket defense adjusted to one method, the Broncos would try a different one.
But that dominance soon slowed, as Toledo showed remarkable fight at the end of the first set. Despite being down 24-18, they roared back to within two points of Western. WMU still won the set 25-22, but Toledo made it apparent that they were by no means out of the game.
In the second set, Toledo turned on the gas. Their momentum from the end of the previous set carried over, and they soared ahead to an 18-9 lead. Dominant blocking up front from middle blocker Sierra Pertzborn and outside hitter Olivia Heitkamp forced WMU to hustle back and play defensively, as Toledo won the set 25-16.
Overall, it was a physical match played at the net, as both teams combined for 18 total blocks.
Toledo maintained their surge in the third set. More physical blocks, along with some service aces and a critical service error by WMU, helped them win the set 25-21.
In the fourth set, Toledo did the improbable, roaring back from a nine-point deficit to tie the game up at 22 apiece. They took a 23-22 lead, forcing a WMU timeout.
Toledo surged forward and took the final set, 28-26.
Overall, the Toledo win came down to team chemistry, their ability to force a physical team like WMU to play defensively, and a dominant performance from outside hitter Jessica Costlow. The true freshman, named MAC Tournament MVP after the game, paced the team with 21 kills.
“I felt like it was just another game. I was just doing what I usually did, and it’s so much easier when you have a great team behind you, supporting you,” Costlow said.
The win marks Toledo’s first MAC Championship. They achieved it with a first-year head coach, and beat the top two seeds in the tournament – Ball State and Western Michigan.
“I wouldn’t change a thing,” Wright said. “From having to fight just to get into the tournament, to being down Friday night to being down yesterday…we had to let the story write itself, but we knew we were going to write the ending.”
The result marks the end of the MAC volleyball season. With their win, Toledo has earned an automatic bid to compete in the NCAA Volleyball tournament.
Offseason updates on BGSU volleyball, as well as coverage for next season, can be found at bgfalconmedia.com.
