ROCHESTER, Mich. -- The Oakland volleyball team will continue its five-game home stand with a pair of weekend matches against IUPUI Friday, Sept. 28 at 6 p.m. and Northern Kentucky Saturday, Sept. 29 at 4 p.m.

Friday's match against the Jaguars is Throwback Night for Flashback Friday where fans can travel back in time and enjoy some throwback music and dress in their favorite decade. Saturday's match against the Norse is Player Family Night as Oakland Volleyball will honor its players' family members for the support they provide for their student-athletes. 

Last time out, Oakland split its Horizon League opening weekend, taking down Youngstown State on Sept. 22 in three sets and falling to Cleveland State 3-0 on Sept. 23.

INSIDE THE SERIES

• Oakland is 11-23 all-time against IUPUI, but has won four of its last five matches against the Jaguars.
• The Golden Grizzlies have not lost to IUPUI at home since 2009 and are 6-1 at home against the Jaguars since 2007.
• Oakland is 11-1 all-time against NKU, dropping its lone match in 2016 on the road.

HORIZON LEAGUE TOP-10 RANKINGS

• Hitting percentage: Jamie Walling, third, .282.
• Assists per set: Jordan Lentz, third, 8.76.
• Kills per set: Aleksandra Malek, 10th, 2.71.
• Blocks: Walling, fifth, 1.02; Davis, 10th, 1.00.
• Digs per set: Lindsay Wightman, fourth, 4.86.
• Points per set: Walling, eighth, 3.32.

NOTES

• Opponents are recording just 15.1 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. It is also the most digs recorded in a match this season in the Horizon League. 
• 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 180-160 (.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 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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