HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. — The Oakland University volleyball program fell in four sets to the Northern Kentucky Norse (15-25, 17-25, 25-19, 17-25) on Friday night at Regents Hall. 

Graduate senior Jamie Walling paced the Golden Grizzlies (12-8, 6-3 HL) with nine kills to go along with 14 digs, five blocks, and the team's lone service ace. Senior Brittany Welch led the OU attack with a team-leading 11 kills, while redshirt freshman Patti Cesarini was close behind with eight spikes. Junior setter AnnaBelle Tomei garnered a team-best 18 assists and added five digs. 

Defensively, fifth-year senior Lindsay Wightman totaled a team-high 19 digs, and junior Haley Brown had a season-best 16 digs to round out Golden Grizzlies with double-figures in the category. Senior Jessica Riedl controlled NKU (10-6, 6-1 HL) with a team-leading six blocks. Senior Kerra Cornist and Cesarini helped out with three blocks apiece. 

As a team, Oakland trailed the Norse in kills (52-to-40), assists (45-to-37), digs (88-to-71), blocks (13-to-9), and aces (4-to-1).

NKU jumped out to an early 11-5 lead in the opening set. The Norse extended their edge to 15-7 following a 4-0 run and concluded the opener with a 25-15 set victory. The OU attack had a quiet start with 10 kills and a .073 hitting percentage. Meanwhile, the host team in Northern Kentucky hit .281 with 12 kills and just three errors. 

The following set was tied early at 3-all, but the Norse took the next six points to gain a 9-3 lead. OU minimized inched within two, 15-13, after a 5-2 run, highlighted by a pair of blocks from Riedl and Walling. However, the Norse responded with a 4-0 run to up their lead to 19-13. The Golden Grizzlies could not overcome their deficit, resulting in a 25-18 set victory for NKU. Oakland limited Northern Kentucky to a .178 striking percentage in the period but struggled with eight errors. 

The Norse continued to hold the momentum, opening a 7-2 advantage in the third period. Oakland rallied back with a 6-0 run to take an 8-7 lead into a timeout break. Later in the set, OU increased its lead to 20-15 after taking four consecutive points and finished the set on top, 25-19, to force another period. Welch was at her best with four kills on just five swings, while Wightman helped out with six digs. To add, five different Golden Grizzlies had at least one block in the set. 

NKU took control with a 9-1 run to claim a 13-7 lead in the fourth set. The Norse led the rest of the way to clinch a match-deciding 25-18 victory. 

The Golden Grizzlies will return to play tomorrow at Wright State. First serve is set for 4 p.m.