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Saint Francis (PA): Live Stats

ROCHESTER, Mich. -- The Oakland volleyball team will embark on its final non-conference tilt this weekend at the Redhawk Invitational hosted by Miami (OH) Friday, Sept. 14 through Saturday, Sept. 15.

The Golden Grizzlies will open the tournament with the Redhawks Friday night at 7 p.m. inside Millett Hall. The match will be streamed on Redhawks All-Access and can be viewed via a paid subscription.  The Black and Gold will wrap up non-conference play Saturday morning against Saint Francis (PA) at 11 a.m.

Last time out, Oakland dropped a trio of tough matches against No. 20 Michigan, Colorado State and LSU. 

INSIDE THE SERIES

• Oakland is taking on Miami for the first time in school history.
• The Golden Grizzlies are heading into their sixth meeting all-time against Saint Francis dating back to 1999 and own a record of 4-1.
• Oakland last faced Saint Francis in 2009, winning in three sets at the West Virginia Classic hosted by West Virginia.
• The Golden Grizzlies have won back-to-back three-set matches against the Red Flash (2009 at the West Virginia Classic and 2007 at the O'rena.)
• The Red Flash's lone win over Oakland in the series came in 2000 (3-2 at the Duquesne Invitational). 

NOTES

• On Aug. 28 Oakland secured a 3-1 win at Bowling Green as Lindsay 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. Jordan Lentz was named the tournament MVP.
• Rob Beam is in his 12th season with Oakland compiling a 178-158 (.529) record.
• Oakland has finished third or higher in the Horizon League standings seven out of the last eight seasons dating back to 2010.
• 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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