ROCHESTER, Mich. — The Oakland University volleyball program will continue Horizon League play with three home matches over four days at the Athletics Center O'rena. The Golden Grizzlies will face Milwaukee on Thursday, October 7, and follow with contests versus UIC on Friday, October 8, and Green Bay on Sunday, October 10. OU's first two matches will air on ESPN+ with Neal Ruhl on call.Â
THE SLATE
October 7 vs. Milwaukee | 5 p.m. |
Watch |
Live Stats
October 8 vs. UIC | 6 p.m. |
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Live Stats
October 10 vs. Green Bay | 2 p.m. |
Live Stats
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Milwaukee is 10-6 on the season with impressive non-conference wins over Cincinnati and Notre Dame. The Panthers are tied for first place in the HL with a 4-0 record. MKE's most recent win came against defending Horizon League champion Wright State in five sets. As a team, Milwaukee leads the nation in assists (860) and holds top-25 marks in kills (3rd, 909), assists per set (7th, 13.23), digs (17th, 1,033), kills per set (18th, 13.98), and team total attacks (22nd, 2,344).Â
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. MKE
The all-time series between the OU and MKE is tied at nine apiece. The Golden Grizzlies have won three out of their last five meetings over the Panthers, dating back to the 2018 season. The Panthers previously held the advantage with three wins in a row from 2017-18. Last season, Milwaukee swept OU on back-to-back nights.Â
SCOUTING THE FLAMES
The Flames are a perfect 3-0 in Horizon League with victories against IUPUI, Purdue Fort Wayne, and Green Bay. UIC's last two matches were canceled due to multiple positive COVID-19 cases within the Flames tier-one individuals. Sophomore middle blocker Becca Oldendorf ranks second in the HL with a .328 hitting percentage, while sophomore outside hitter Martina Delucchi possesses top-five conference marks in aces (3rd, 25), aces per set (4th, 0.45), and points per set (4th, 4.01). Â
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. UIC
Oakland leads 10-7 in the overall series but has dropped its last three matches to the Flames. The Golden Grizzlies fell in five sets in their most recent matchup against UIC, and senior
Kerra Cornist totaled a career-high nine blocks in the loss. Before the three-match setback, OU went 4-1 against UIC from 2017-19.
SCOUTING THE PHOENIX
Green Bay opened the 2021 campaign 7-7 overall with a 2-0 record in conference play but has dropped its last three matches to HL opponents, all in straight sets. The Phoenix have excelled with 120 aces, which ranks eighth in the country. Redshirt sophomore Calli Gentry has paced the offense with a conference-leading 9.92 assists per set.Â
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. GREEN BAY
Oakland trails 12-11 in the overall series. The programs met sparingly from 1985-2013 but have faced every year since OU joined the Horizon League. The Golden Grizzlies went 1-6 versus the Phoenix from 2017-19 but rebounded with a season sweep over Green Bay during the 2021 winter season. Fifth-year senior
Lindsay Wightman was the star of the show in the series finale against the Phoenix (2/23/21), as she tallied a season-best 36 digs, which tied for the fourth-highest mark in school history and the second-most in her career at OU.Â
LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Grizzlies dropped a three-set decision at Cleveland State (10/1) last Friday. The loss snapped a three-match win streak in Horizon League play. Senior
Jessica Riedl paced OU with team-leading marks in kills (9) and blocks (5). Wightman added 12 digs.Â
FEELS LIKE 2016
OU is off to its best start in conference play in five years, as the 2016 Golden Grizzlies also began the HL season with a 3-1 record.
REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK
Wightman has broken multiple school records in the last three weeks. 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. 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 (5.50) and total digs (297). Riedl ranks fourth in the league in blocks per set (1.00) and total blocks (55). As a team, the Golden Grizzlies rank second in the HL in blocks per set with an average of 2.15.
CHASING HISTORY
Walling sits second in school history with 1,320 career kills. Three weekends ago, Walling surpassed Melissa Deatsch (2013-16), who previously ranked second with 1,244 kills. Hall of Honor inductee Meghan Bray (2009-12) leads the category with 1,578 career spikes.
LET'S GO STREAKING
Dating back to the 2019 season, Riedl has recorded one or more blocks in 50 straight contests. She has totaled multiple blocks in all 15 matches this season, including a season-high six blocks at DePaul and YSU.
SHE'S KILLIN' IT
Redshirt freshman
Patti Cesarini ranks second on the team in kills per set (2.67) and total kills (147). In 31 career matches with the Golden Grizzlies, she has reached double-digit kills on 16 occasions, including eight times this season.
KERRA MEANS BUSINESS
Cornist was on another level in Oakland's five-set win over Purdue Fort Wayne (9/28), as she finished with a career-high 14 kills on just 23 swings (.435 hitting percentage) and matched a season-high in blocks with six. On the season, the Auburn, Ky., native ranks second on the team in hitting percentage (.304), blocks (48.0), and blocks per set (0.87).Â
SHE CAN DO IT ALL
Junior setter
Madison Ross possesses top-five team marks in hitting percentage (.333, 1st), solo blocks (5, T-1st), assists per set (3.64, 2nd), total assists (200, 2nd), block assists (28, 4th), total blocks (33.0, 4th), and blocks per set (0.60, 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 ranks second on the team in service aces with 12. She has recorded at least one ace in nine matches, including a career-high three in OU's five-set win over Bradley (9/3).
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 321 assists through 15 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.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 216 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
Oakland will follow a three-match homestand with three straight road contests. The Golden Grizzlies will begin their trip at IUPUI (October 12) and then travel to Northern Kentucky (October 15) and Wright State (October 16).
