Oct. 4, 2008
Box Score | Photo Gallery 
ROCHESTER, Mich. - Junior Adrienne Leone hit .343 with 14 kills, while senior Amy Golem turned in a 12-kill, 12-dig effort, but it was not enough for the Oakland University volleyball team (4-13, 1-5 Summit League) as the Golden Grizzlies fell 3-0 to South Dakota State (2-12, 1-3 Summit League) on Saturday at the Athletics Center O'Rena.
The Golden Grizzlies fell 30-28 in the opening set, before falling 25-20, 26-24 in the final two sets. OU held a .248 to .192 hitting advantage for the match, hitting no worse than .216 in any individual match.
"Offensively I think we were very good," said head coach Rob Beam. "For a large part, the match was in our control. We needed to be better in the moment of competition, and that could have certainly turned the match around for us. The thing that's difficult for our team right now is often we're achieving our statistical goals and still losing. Hitting over .200 is a goal for our team, but I think what it comes down to are those little moments - those extra touches, the pass quality being there under pressure, and that's really something we need to make a correction on in practice this week."
Golem added to the hitting effort with a .241 effort, and senior Leah Dupuie (nine kills, .312), freshman Jenna Lange (five kills, .273), and freshman Jenny Jones (two kills, .400) all hit over .250 for the Golden Grizzlies in the loss. However, SDSU used six service aces and a .975 service percentage to bolster their offensive effort.
"I thought what the match comes down to is they served and passed better than we did," added Beam. "I look at 11 service errors, especially in the first set, and a lot of them were first-serve opportunities where you're not giving your team a chance to score a point or start a scoring run, and that really shortens the game, and let them get the win in the first set despite being out-hit .267 to .079."
Sophomore Katy Wilson dished out 24 assists, while Samantha Filipek dished out 15. Lauren Duquette turned in 11 digs. OU held an 8-3 advantage in blocking, with Dupuie adding one solo and three assisted blocks, and Lange adding three solo and one assisted block.
The Golden Grizzlies will return to action on Tuesday, when they host Eastern Michigan in a non-conference tilt at the Athletics Center O'Rena. The match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.
"For us, Eastern Michigan is a rival match. It's a natural rival with them being so close. It's a very local school, we know them well because we've played them in the fall and spring. It'll be a good chance for us to compete and it will be a good test for us."
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