ROCHESTER, Mich. — The Oakland University volleyball program welcomes Robert Morris and Youngstown State to the Athletics Center O'rena for a pair of Horizon League matchups. The Golden Grizzlies will face RMU on Saturday, Oct. 23, and YSU on Sunday, Oct. 24. Sunday's match will air on ESPN+ with
Neal Ruhl on call.
WEEKEND INFORMATION
October 23 vs. Robert Morris | 2 p.m. |
Live Stats
October 24 vs. Youngstown State | 2 p.m. |
Watch |
Live Stats
SCOUTING THE COLONIALS
Robert Morris is 9-13 overall and 2-8 in Horizon League action. The Colonials have endured sweeps in their last four conference matchups. RMU's two wins in conference play came against IUPUI and Youngstown State. As a team, the Colonials rank second nationally in service aces (154) and 11th in aces per set (1.97). Graduate middle blocker Emma Granger has accumulated 42 aces, the third-highest mark in NCAA Division I. She also sits first in the HL in blocks per set (1.07) and third in total blocks (79).
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. RMU
OU leads 7-2 in the overall series. The Golden Grizzlies have gone 6-0 against the Colonials since
Rob Beam took over as a head coach in 2007. In late September, the Golden Grizzlies took down RMU in three sets to remain unbeaten in conference play. Senior
Jessica Riedl totaled 11 kills with a .500 hitting percentage added three blocks in the victory. Last season, OU won a pair of matches at RMU. Redshirt freshman
Patti Cesarini totaled a team-best 32 kills, averaging 4.0 per set in the series, which led to earning Horizon League Player of the Week.
SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
Youngstown State is 4-17 on the season and 1-9 since HL play began. The Penguins have dropped their last six matches, including five by way of a sweep. YSU earned its lone league win at home against IUPUI in early October and rattled off non-conference wins over Saint Francis (Pa.), North Dakota, and Duquesne. Freshman outside hitter Paula Gursching has paced the team with top-25 national marks in triples-doubles (1, 6th), aces (34, 16th), and aces per set (0.49, 25th)
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. YSU
The Golden Grizzlies have won 18-straight matches over YSU dating back to the 2013 season. OU opened this season's conference slate with a sweep over the Penguins on the road. Fifth-year senior
Lindsay Wightman made history with 33 digs in the win, a school record for digs in a three-set match. Oakland also swept YSU with a pair of straight-set decisions during the 2021 winter campaign. OU leads the all-time series, 17-6, as the Penguins came away with victories in the first six matches between the two programs from 1998 to 2000.
LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Grizzlies suffered a three-set loss at Wright State last Saturday. OU was held to season-low marks in kills (17), hitting percentage (-.025), assists (14), and service aces (0) against the defending Horizon League champions. Wightman paced OU with a team-leading 21 digs and added three assists. Junior setter Annabelle Tomei had 10 digs to round out Golden Grizzlies with double-figures in the category. Senior
Jessica Riedl totaled a match-high five blocks, while graduate senior
Jamie Walling was close behind her four of her own. The trio of redshirt freshman
Patti Cesarini, Walling, and Riedl led the offense with four-plus kills apiece.
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 match at IUPUI (10/12), 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).
CONFERENCE MARKS
Wightman sits second in the HL and top-20 nationally in total digs (401, 9th) and digs per set (5.21, 19th). Riedl ranks second in the league in total blocks (82) and third in blocks per set (1.05), while Walling possesses the fifth-highest point total (305.5). As a team, the Golden Grizzlies rank third in blocks per set (2.13), total blocks (166.0), digs per set (15.73), total digs (1,227), and opponent hitting percentage (.195).
CHASING HISTORY
Walling sits second in school history with 1,391 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 (305.5), points per set (3.92), kills (253), and kills per set (3.24), while also holding top-three team marks in digs (157), digs per set (2.01), blocks (68.0), blocks per set (0.87), service aces (16), and aces per set (0.21).
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 56 straight contests. She has totaled multiple blocks in all 21 matches this season, including a season-high six blocks at DePaul (9/11), YSU (9/24), IUPUI (10/12), and NKU (10/15).
SHE'S KILLIN' IT
Redshirt freshman
Patti Cesarini ranks second on the team in kills per set (2.60) and total kills (203). In 37 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.
ROSS CAN DO IT ALL
Junior setter
Madison Ross possesses top-five team marks in hitting percentage (.308, 1st), solo blocks (5, T-1st), assists per set (3.65, 2nd), total assists (285, 2nd), block assists (38, 4th), total blocks (43.0, 4th), and blocks per set (0.55, 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.
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 five matches.
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 435 assists through 21 matches this season.
IN THIS TOGETHER
The Golden Grizzlies bring back all 17 student-athletes on their roster from a season ago. Senior
Brittany Welch, Walling, Wightman, Cesarini, Ross, Riedl, and Tomei appeared in every set last season.
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 Youngstown State, the Golden Grizzlies will travel west for their final three road matches of the regular season, beginning with Green Bay on Nov. 4.
