ROCHESTER, Mich. — The Oakland University volleyball program will continue its road swing with a pair of matchups against top competition in the Horizon League. OU will clash against Northern Kentucky on Friday, Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. and Wright State on Saturday, Oct. 16 at 4 p.m. Live stats will be provided for both matches.
WEEKEND INFORMATION
October 15 at Northern Kentucky | 6 p.m. |
Live Stats
October 16 at Wright State | 4 p.m. |
Live Stats
SCOUTING THE NORSE
NKU is 13-6 overall, and 5-1 in Horizon League play. In late September, the Norse had a notable five-set win over defending conference champion Wright State and have won their last four conference matchups. Senior outside hitter Anna Brinkmann has been a staple for NKU, as she ranks third in the HL in kills per set (3.65), points per set (4.20), and attacks per set (10.58). Junior defensive specialist Anna Burke leads the team in digs per set (4.67) and total digs (257).Â
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. NKU
Oakland holds a 12-4 record versus Northern Kentucky. However, the Norse have won three out of the last four matchups. The programs last faced off during the 2019 season, where NKU came out on top in three sets. Senior
Brittany Welch led the Golden Grizzlies with eight kills and 13 digs in the match.
SCOUTING THE RAIDERS
Last season, WSU went 14-0 against conference opponents and defeated UIC in the Horizon League Championship title game to secure a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row. The Raiders swept Samford in the opening round before falling to Texas in the second round. This season, Wright State is off to another hot start with a 12-6 record and 4-2 clip in HL play. Senior libero Jenna Story is among the nation's leaders in total digs (397, 3rd) and digs per set (5.67, 6th). As a team, the Raiders rank third nationally in digs per set (18.83) and fourth nationally in total digs (1,318).Â
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. WSU
OU leads 13-11 in the overall series. The Golden Grizzlies have lost five straight to the Raiders but won the previous 13 matches. The 13-match win streak spanned from August 2011 to October 2018. Last season, Oakland dropped a pair of home contests to WSU. Despite losing both matches, OU battled to a 38-36 set win versus Wright State in the series opener.
LAST TIME OUT
OU escaped an early deficit to down IUPUI (10/12) in four sets for its third-straight come-from-behind victory. Graduate senior
Jamie Walling enjoyed an all-around performance, as she totaled a match-leading 17 kills to go along with 15 digs, four blocks, and three service aces. Her marks in digs and aces matched season-highs. A pair of junior setters in
AnnaBelle Tomei and
Madison Ross combined for 41 of Oakland's 45 assists in the contest. Fifth-year senior
Lindsay Wightman helped out with 13 digs and added two aces. Freshman
Emily Wichmann continued her impressive play with 11 digs and two aces. Senior
Jessica Riedl controlled the IUPUI attack with a match-best six blocks.
REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK
Wightman has reached several monumental marks throughout the 2021 campaign. Against Central Michigan (9/17), Wightman totaled 32 digs to surpass Lauren Duquette (2005-08) into the top spot for career digs in program history. The Lake Orion, Mich., native finished with 33 digs in Oakland's straight-set win at YSU (9/24), breaking the previous record mark that she and one other held. In OU's most recent match at IUPUI, she became the sixth individual in Horizon League history to surpass 2,000 career digs. Last season, Wightman set a single-season school record in digs per set (6.31) and matched a school record for aces in a match (7).Â
CONFERENCE MARKS
Wightman sits second in the HL and top-20 nationally in digs per set (5.16) and total digs (361). Senior
Jessica Riedl ranks third in the league in blocks per set (1.00) and total blocks (71), while Walling possesses the third-highest point total (286.5). As a team, the Golden Grizzlies rank second in the HL in opponent hitting percentage (.194) and third in blocks per set (2.10), total blocks (149), and hitting percentage (.223).Â
CHASING HISTORY
Walling sits second in school history with 1,378 career kills. She surpassed Melissa Deatsch (2013-16) four weekends ago, who previously ranked second with 1,244 kills. Hall of Honor inductee Meghan Bray (2009-12) leads the category with 1,578 career spikes. On the season, Walling leads the Golden Grizzlies in points (286.5), points per set (4.04), kills (240), and kills per set (3.38), while also holding top-three team marks in digs (136), digs per set (1.92), blocks (59.0), blocks per set (0.83), and service aces (15).Â
DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Tomei ranks first among teammates with four double-doubles. Last season, she led the Golden Grizzlies with seven in the category. Walling is close behind with two double-doubles on the season.
LET'S GO STREAKING
Dating back to the 2019 season, Riedl has recorded one or more blocks in 54 straight contests. She has totaled multiple blocks in all 19 matches this season, including a season-high six blocks at DePaul (9/11), YSU (9/24), and IUPUI (10/12).Â
SHE'S KILLIN' IT
Redshirt freshman
Patti Cesarini ranks second on the team in kills per set (2.68) and total kills (190). In 35 career matches with the Golden Grizzlies, she has reached double-digit kills on 16 occasions, including nine times this season. In Oakland's five-set victory versus Green Bay (10/10), Cesarini posted a season-high 17 kills on 45 attempts.Â
ROSS CAN DO IT ALL
Junior setter
Madison Ross possesses top-five team marks in hitting percentage (.329, 1st), solo blocks (5, T-1st), assists per set (3.73, 2nd), total assists (265, 2nd), block assists (35, 4th), total blocks (40.0, 4th), and blocks per set (0.56, 4th). In OU's straight-set win over Akron (9/11), she finished with a career-high seven blocks to go along with five kills on 13 swings (.385 hitting percentage), 13 assists, and three digs.Â
ACES FOR DAYS
Freshman
Emily Wichmann leads the team in aces with 18. She has recorded at least one ace in 12 matches, including a career-high three against Bradley (9/3) and Green Bay (10/10). The Crescent Springs, Ky., native has combined for six aces in her last three matches.Â
1K CLUB
Tomei became the eighth Golden Grizzly in program history to reach 1,000 career assists in Oakland's tournament-opening sweep against Penn (9/10). Needing 17 assists to reach the 1,000 assist plateau, she finished with a team-best 20. The setter totaled 548 assists in her debut season with the Golden Grizzlies, followed by 315 assists in her sophomore campaign and 413 assists through 19 matches this season.
IN THIS TOGETHER
The Golden Grizzlies bring back all 17 student-athletes on their roster from a season ago. Welch, Walling, Wightman, Cesarini, Ross, Riedl, and Tomei appeared in every set last season.Â
WELCOME TO THE FAM
OU welcomes three newcomers to the program in Wichmann,
Kira Buza, and
Clarke Adams. The freshman trio arrives in Rochester from Houston, Texas (Adams), Crescent Springs, Ky. (Wichmann), and nearby Shelby Township, Mich. (Buza).
MORE THAN AN ATHLETE
As a team, the Golden Grizzlies have earned the AVCA Team Academic Award for six straight years. The award honors volleyball teams with a year-long grade-point average of 3.30 on a 4.0 scale or 4.10 on a 5.0 scale. OU compiled an impressive 3.56 GPA to close out the 2020-21 academic year. Sixteen members of the Golden Grizzly volleyball program earned a GPA above 3.0, highlighted by
Haley Brown and
Katelyn Johnson, who turned in a perfect 4.0 GPA in the spring.
THAT'S OUR COACH
Head coach
Rob Beam is in his 15th season with the Golden Grizzlies. As the longest-tenured volleyball coach in school history, Beam has guided Oakland to nine winning seasons and a berth to the NCAA Volleyball Tournament in 2014. He has accumulated 219 victories, second in school history, reaching the 200-win plateau during the 2019 campaign. Most recently, Beam helped OU to a 7-9 record during the Covid-19 shortened 2021 winter season.
MEET THE STAFF
Amber Hildebrandt enters her first year as an associate coach with the Golden Grizzlies. No stranger to Rochester, Hildebrandt (then Miehlke) competed at OU from 2009-12 and later served as a volunteer assistant under Beam in 2014. In addition to her time at Oakland, she has coached at Appalachian State (2015-16, 2019-21) and Xavier (2016-17). Graduate assistant
Bekah Strange is set to go for her second season with the Black and Gold. As a four-year starter at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Strange totaled 1,812 career digs, good for third place in school history. As a senior, she was named Atlantic 10 Libero of the Year and an AVCA All-East Region selection.
NEXT UP
After Wright State, the Golden Grizzlies will commence a three-match homestand, beginning with Robert Morris on Saturday, Oct. 23.
