Aug. 27, 2011

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ROCHESTER, Mich. - Meghan Bray and Brittany Holbrook had 14 kills each but the Oakland University volleyball fell in the final match of the Blue-Gold Invitational in four sets (17-25, 25-23, 23-25, 22-25) to the University of Toledo Saturday night in Savage Arena. Bray and Holbrook were named to the Blue-Gold All-Tournament Team for their performances over the weekend. Bray totaled 50 kills over three matches while Holbrook had a .372 hitting percentage and 12 blocks.

"This was a very competitive match with a great team," said head coach Rob Beam. "We need to be a little sharper in the fourth set offensively to extend the match. I feel good about our performance this weekend and we know much more about our team and how we can improve."

In the first set, OU fell behind early as the Rockets collected 19 kills as a team to go on to a 25-17 victory. The Golden Grizzlies bounced back with a commanding second set going up by as many as six points and never trailing. Oakland had a balanced attack having a .483 hitting percentage as a team in the set. In the third set, the Black and Gold were in control as they were up 17-13 but the Rockets fought back winning 12 out of the last 18 points to take the lead in the match. The final set was led by Toledo early until Oakland rallied to bring the score back to a two-point game led by two strong kills by Katie Horling. However, it was not enough as the Golden Grizzlies fell 25-22.

Alissa Valentine continued her strong performance from the previous two matches with 41 assists and Alli Kirk recorded 18 digs for her third straight double-digit dig performance.

Oakland will be in action on Wednesday Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. as they take on Eastern Michigan at the Convocation Center in Ypsilanti, Mich.

-OAKLAND-