Rockets begin season with school’s first Blue-Gold game

The Rockets kicked off their season Saturday night with the first annual Blue-Gold match at Savage Arena. The Blue squad prevailed in three sets in the inter-squad scrimmage as their regular season debut is slated for Friday at Savage Arena.

"I thought our transition offense was really good and our defensive plays, the way we were going to the floor and controlling the ball were all positive," UT head coach Greg Smith said. "One thing that must get better is our serving. We are focusing on being more aggressive servers and sometimes that is a risk reward situation. Being more aggressive allows us to take teams out of their system and make them struggle a little more."

The Rockets begin their regular season on Friday with The Rocket Classic, hosting Loyola (MD), Binghamton and Michigan in the two-day event.

Toledo also faces Big Ten teams Wisconsin and Michigan State this season. UT will travel to the University of Milwaukee Panther Invitational to face the Badgers on Sept. 11 before hosting MSU on Sept. 17. Other notable non-conference games include at Alabama on Sept. 3 and against Marquette on Sept. 12 before entering conference play on Sept. 24.

"This year's schedule [strength] is all my doing and that's how it's going to be for the remainder of my time here," Smith said. "If we aspire to be one of those top 25 teams, we have to play top 25 teams. It teaches us not to fear those types of teams. The more you play those teams the more you develop that mentality. Ohio and Western Michigan reached the top 25 and if we want to win conference championships we need to be able to beat top 25 teams."

Coming off an early exit of the Mid-American Conference Tournament, the Rockets return a pair of key juniors in second team All-MAC outside hitter Amber DeWeerdt and setter Kassie Kadera. DeWeerdt ranked seventh in the MAC with 3.74 points per set and ninth with 3.30 kills per set. Kadera led the conference with 10.91 assists per set and finished second on the team with 0.23 service aces per set and fourth with 2.7 digs.

Returning MAC All- Freshman OH Sondra Parys, who had been battling an ankle injury during spring practice, has been sidelined the past four weeks with a virus. There is no timetable for Parys' return.

"They had to go through a series of tests and they finally figured out what she's going through," Smith said. "We miss Sandra out there. She was a huge part of our success last year and we would like to have her back on the floor right now. She's really behind with being out all spring … but she will come back and she will be ready to go."

Toledo brings back just two seniors in libero Katie Westerfeld and OH Margot Joniec, yet Smith feels as if this team is in a better position to begin the season than last year's squad.

"Last year at this time, we were still learning the system," Smith said. "A lot of the things you see now is because we have had more time to work with them. I expect us to be better. I love our group right now. Everybody has stepped up their game from this spring and it nice to see them reach for their potential. They understand what we expect from them and we have had a great two weeks of practice. Hopefully it will be incorporated into the regular season."

Smith has also seen strong performances from his freshmen class, noting that Becca Reidy has fought her way into the starting OH position and Dakota Harkins has impressed coaches with her growth throughout the postseason.

"We have a good group of freshman coming in and they just fit in really well," DeWeerdt said. "They are adapting well after getting thrown into a whole new type of way of playing volleyball."

Toledo was chosen to finish fourth in the MAC West Division preseason poll behind Northern Illinois, Western Michigan and Central Michigan.

The Rockets will be in action for their first regular season matchup against Loyola (MD) on Friday at 7 p.m. in Savage Arena.