BUFFALO, NY - Toledo gave itself some momentum entering next week's  2009 Mid-American Tournament with a 3-1 (25-20, 25-16, 19-25, 25-18) road win over Buffalo. The victory improved the Rockets' record to 17-11 overall and 8-8 in league play, while the Bulls fell to 15-15 overall and 5-11 in conference action.

"It's always good to end your regular season with a win especially on the road," Toledo Head Coach Greg Smith said. "We're really proud of how hard the team has worked the last three months.  We've developed a great deal as a team and made a lot of adjustments and improvements along the way."

UT finished its regular season in a three-way tie for second place in the MAC's West Division with Central Michigan and Northern Illinois. The second-place standing is the Rockets' best since the conference went to a divisional format in 1997.

Toledo is the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament and will host No.  11 seed  Bowling Green in a first-round contest on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 7:00 p.m. The winner of Tuesday's contest will face No. 2 seed Western Michigan in the MAC Quarterfinals on Friday, Nov. 20 at 1:30 p.m.

Senior middle blockers Sarah Wilson and Liz Sundburg keyed the win for UT by dominating the middle. Wilson tallied a team-high 12 kills and a .385 attack percentage, while Sundburg notched 10 kills and a team-best .529 hitting mark.

Sophomore OH Amber DeWeerdt also registered a double-double for the Rockets with 10 kills and 11 digs. Junior libero Katie Westerfeld continued her strong defensive play with a team-high 20 digs.

Toledo jumped on the Bulls right from the outset, scoring the first six points of the match. The Bulls roared right back though and ended up evening the score at 10-10. The set remained tight until the Rockets tallied the final four points on two kills from DeWeerdt and one apiece from Wilson and sophomore OH Cassie Kleespies.

UT took a quick lead, 12-4, in the second set as well but the Bulls mounted another comeback. A four-point UB spurt forced the Rockets to call timeout leading 16-15. Toledo responded with a burst and ended the set with a 9-1 run. Senior OH Stephanie Kersting led the way in the spurt with three kills.

After the Bulls stayed alive with a third-set win, UT took control early in the fourth set with an 11-6 advantage and led the rest of the way. Buffalo climbed to within two points at 17-15 but Sundburg came up with back-to-back kills to end the rally.