Sept. 10, 2010
Box Score
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Freshman Audrey Wilson had 14 kills and juniors Allison Bell and Jenna Lange had 10 kills each as the Oakland University volleyball team (3-6, 0-1 Summit) lost 3-2 (21-25, 27-25, 19-25, 25-23, 15-10) to IPFW (3-5, 1-0 Summit) Friday evening.
"Despite the loss, I'm pleased with the way we played," said head coach Rob Beam. "We were able to make significant improvements in a number of areas in just two days of practice. Most importantly we competed at a high level and now have the experience of playing in a close five set match. I liked the way we blocked the ball. Brittany Holbrook was particularly good in that area. Audrey Wilson was very good tonight. She scored points at key times and really provided the consistency that we needed on the left side."
In the opening set, a kill by Maya Schlindwein closed the gap to 23-21, Oakland. Sophomore Meghan Bray came up with a kill and a service ace to put OU up 1-0.
After losing the second set, the Golden Grizzlies stormed out to a 15-8 lead. The Mastodons went on a 9-4 run to close the margin to two, 19-17. Oakland went on a 6-2 run, finished off on a kill by Bell, to go up 2-1.
In the fourth set, it was a battle the whole way as the lead was never more than two. Down 23-22, junior Ashleigh Slemmer crushed the ball right down the line to tie the set up. IPFW came up with two kills to force a fifth set. The Mastodons rallied from an early deficit to win the final set and the match.
For Oakland, Wilson was the top hitter with just three errors for a .314 hitting percentage. The Golden Grizzlies had a season-high 29 total blocks led by sophomore Brittany Holbrook with nine and Bell who had seven. Senior Brittany Dunn had 14 digs, her eighth double-digit performance of the season. Junior Ashley Nevelle had 45 assists and 13 digs.
Oakland will take on Cornell and Bowling Green at the Best Western Falcon Plaza Invitational, Saturday, Sept. 11. The matches are scheduled to start at 2 and 7 p.m., respectively. Live Stats for the matches can be found at http://www.ougrizzlies.com/
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