Oct. 19, 2010
Box Score
ROCHESTER, Mich. - Senior Brittany Dunn had 22 digs, her 20th straight double-digit match as the Oakland University volleyball team (11-12) lost 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-15) to Valparaiso (18-5), Tuesday night at the Athletics Center O'Rena.
In the first set, the teams battled back and forth to get to 8-8. Sophomore Meghan Bray crushed the ball down the middle and then OU force a hitting error to go up 10-8. Valparaiso went on a 7-3 run to lead 15-13.
Following a Crusader service error, Bray blasted her serve off Sarah Dooms to tie the match at 15-15. Valpo picked up a kill and a block to make it 17-15. Freshman Audrey Wilson angled the ball off the Crusader block to make it 17-16. Valparaiso closed on an 8-1 run to take the first set 25-17.
The second set resembled the pendulum of a clock. Valparaiso jumped to a 5-2 lead before the Golden grizzlies came storming back. Junior Katie Horling took a quick set and nailed it to start a run of six straight points, making it 8-5 Oakland.
Valpo came back with a 6-2 run to take the lead, 11-10. The teams traded points until it was 14-13. The Crusaders went on a 7-1 run to take a seemingly insurmountable 20-14 lead.
Insurmountable that is to everyone except Oakland. Bray pushed the ball over the net and found the back corner for a kill. OU picked up three more points. Following a timeout, Horling stuff Katie Layman to make it 20-19.
The pendulum swung again as Valparaiso went on a 4-1 run to make it 24-20. Once again, the Golden Grizzlies fought back. Horling picked up a kill and sophomore Brittany Holbrook rattled off back-to-back kills, making it 24-23. Valpo got a kill from Layman to close out the set.
In the third set, the Crusaders came out on fire scoring the first five points. Valparaiso took a 12-7 lead before Oakland starting to get going. Bray hit a bomb straight down the middle followed by an attack error by Valpo, making it 12-9. The Crusaders then closed the set with a 13-6 run to finish the match.
For Oakland, Bray had 11 kills and 12 digs, her third straight double-double. Junior Ashley Nevelle had 25 assists and 10 digs and junior Allison Bell served up three aces. Dunn recorded her third straight match of 20+ digs and has 1,326 in her career, 15th best in Summit League history.
For Valparaiso, Dooms had 13 kills and 11 digs while Kelsey Victor had 11 kills. Jenny Pokorny had 37 assists and Taylor Root recorded 22 digs.
Oakland returns to conference action, Friday, Oct. 22 on the road taking on Oral Roberts. The game is scheduled to start at 8:00 p.m. Live Stats will be provided at www.ougrizzlies.com.
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