Oct. 2, 2009

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ROCHESTER, Mich. - Despite a 22-kill effort from senior Adrienne Leone and 14 kills apiece by freshmen Meghan Bray and Brittany Holbrook, the Oakland University volleyball team (11-3, 5-2 Summit League) was unable to convert late in the match, dropping a 3-2 heartbreaker to IPFW (10-7, 4-3 Summit League) on Friday at the Athletics Center O'Rena.

"Overall I was pleased with our performance," said Oakland head coach Rob Beam. "I'd like to see a more consistent effort. I think at times we emotionally took breaks from the competition, and I would like to see us sustain a higher level of output in that regard. Other than that I was pretty pleased. We served too many balls out of bounds, especially when the other team wasn't giving us many service errors."

IPFW won the opening set 25-18 before Oakland rallied to take a 2-1 lead with a 25-23 win in set two and a 25-22 win in set three. However, IPFW rallied with a 25-20 win in the fourth set before taking a 20-18 thriller in the fifth and final set to seal the match win.

After falling behind 7-3 in the final set, the Golden Grizzlies rallied to even the match and served match point three times, however, IPFW stopped the Golden Grizzlies from converting before scoring three consecutive points to earn the win.

Leone's 22 kills led OU, while IPFW's Rebekah Roehm led all players with 27 kills. Ashley Nevelle dished out a match-high 51 assists, while junior Brittany Dunn turned in a 32-dig performance for OU. Joining Dunn in double-dight digs for OU were Alli Kirk with 22 digs, Leone with 21, Nevelle with 15, and freshman Jillian Kulka with 10.

Sophomore Jenna Lange posted eight kills with five block assists to lead OU in the blocking area. Hitting percentage for the match was relatively even with IPFW holding a narrow .188 to .169 advantage.

Oakland will return to action on Tuesday, Oct. 6 as they square off against Eastern Michigan in a non-league match. A 7 p.m. start is scheduled.

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