ESPN3 vs. UIC | UIC LIVESTATS | MILWAUKEE LIVESTATS

ROCHESTER, Mich. -- The Oakland volleyball team will continue Horizon League play on the road beginning with UIC (11-8, 4-2 HL) Friday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. (ET) on ESPN3, followed by a trip to Milwaukee (3-16, 2-4 HL) Saturday, Oct. 13 at 5 p.m. (ET).
 
The Golden Grizzlies look to bounce back after a 3-0 loss to Green Bay.

INSIDE THE SERIES

• Oakland is 8-3 all-time against UIC.
• The Golden Grizzlies swept the Flames a season ago, which included a 3-0 win on the road.
• The Golden Grizzlies are 4-5 all-time against Milwaukee, with the Panthers taking the series in 2017. 
• The two squads had never met prior to joining the Horizon League, with their first matchup coming Sept. 27, 2013.

NOTES

• Oakland's Jordan Lentz currently ranks third in conference play in assists per set with 9.16.
• The match between Oakland and Milwaukee will feature two of the top defenders in the league with Lindsay Wightman ranking fourth in the league in digs per set at 4.87, while Milwaukee's Jess Grabowski ranks fifth with 4.79/set.
• Opponents are recording just 15.57 digs per set against the Golden Grizzlies, the fewest in the league.
• On Aug. 28 Oakland secured a 3-1 win at Bowling Green as Wightman recorded 39 digs, the second-most in program history for an individual match and was just three digs short of breaking current Oakland assistant coach Lauren Duquette's record.
• Jamie Walling was named Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week on Aug. 27 after finishing with 40 kills in Oakland's first three matches in which the Golden Grizzlies took the tournament title at Purdue Fort Wayne.  She registered 2.86 kills per set and a .451 hitting percentage while committing just eight errors in 71 attempts and was named to the all-tournament team.
• The Golden Grizzlies claimed the Purdue Fort Wayne Tournament title (Aug. 24-25), their first tournament title since 2016. Lentz was named the tournament MVP.
• Rob Beam is in his 12th season with Oakland compiling a 180-162 (.526) record.
• Oakland was picked to finish second in the 2018 Horizon League Volleyball Preseason Poll earning three first-place votes and 67 points overall, just two points behind preseason favorite and reigning league champion Cleveland State.
•  The Golden Grizzlies are coming off a 2017 season in which they finished second in the conference with a 12-4 record and a 17-12 overall record. The 12 league wins matched a program-best in the Division I era for Oakland and was the fifth time the Black and Gold recorded 12 wins in league play under Beam.
• Oakland returns all-league selections Krysteena Davis and Walling to the 2018 squad plus starters Lentz and Wightman.
• Davis led the conference in total blocks (161) and blocks per set (1.42) a season ago which ranked 19th and 20th respectively in the NCAA and were single season school records.
• Walling enters her sophomore campaign after leading the team with a .295 hitting percentage as a freshman, the fourth-best in a single season in Oakland history. She also became the first freshmen to lead Oakland in hitting percentage since 2014.
• The Golden Grizzlies have a new look to their coaching staff this season adding former players Duquette (assistant coach) and Sammy Condon (graduate assistant). Duquette takes over duties for associate head coach Claire Galli who will miss the 2018 season on maternity leave. 

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