ROCHESTER, Mich. — The Oakland University volleyball program will close its regular season with home matches against Wright State on Friday, Nov. 12, and Northern Kentucky on Saturday, Nov. 13. Friday's match will commence at 6 p.m., while Saturday's finale is set for a 4 p.m. start. Both matches will air on ESPN+ and live stats will also be provided.
THE SLATE
Nov. 12 vs. Wright State | 6 p.m. |
Watch |
Live Stats
Nov. 13 vs. Northern Kentucky | 4 p.m. |
Watch |
Live Stats
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 20-7 overall and 12-3 in HL play. The Raiders have won their last four matches, including a four-set win over Milwaukee. Senior libero Jenna Story leads the country in total digs (593) and ranks second nationally in digs per set (5.81). As a team, the Raiders top the nation in digs (2,014) and sit second in total attacks (4,112) and digs per set (19.37).
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. WSU
OU leads 13-12 in the overall series. The Golden Grizzlies have lost six straight to the Raiders but won the previous 13 matches. The 13-match win streak spanned from August 2011 to October 2018. Earlier this season, Oakland fell to WSU in three sets on the road. Fifth-year senior
Lindsay Wightman paced the Golden Grizzlies with 21 digs and three assists in the loss.
SCOUTING THE NORSE
NKU is 17-7 overall and second in the HL standings at 13-2 in conference play. The Norse have strung off league wins over three of the top-four ranked schools in Wright State, Milwaukee, and UIC. Senior outside hitter Anna Brinkmann has been a staple for NKU, as she ranks third in the HL in kills per set (3.63), points per set (4.25), and attacks per set (10.38). Senior setter Miranda Wucherer sits fourth nationally and first in the HL with three triple-doubles.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. NKU
Oakland holds a 12-5 record versus Northern Kentucky. However, the Norse have won four out of the last five matchups. The programs most recently met in October 2021, as Norse won the matchup in four sets. Senior
Brittany Welch had a strong performance with 11 digs and three digs, while graduate senior
Jamie Walling totaled nine kills to go along with 14 digs, five blocks, and the team's lone service ace.
TOURNAMENT BOUND
The Golden Grizzlies clinched a berth to the Horizon League Championship for the seventh time since joining the conference in 2013. The league's top-six seeded schools compete in the tournament. Last Sunday, Cleveland State fell to UIC in straight-sets, which dropped the Vikings out of contention for postseason play.
HL STANDINGS
The Golden Grizzlies are fifth in the Horizon League standings at 9-7. Milwaukee leads the pack at 14-2, while Northern Kentucky, Wright State, and UIC are slightly behind with records of 13-2, 12-3, and 11-3. Green Bay is closing in on Oakland with an 8-8 HL record, good for sixth in the standings.
LAST TIME OUT
Oakland is coming off a three-set loss at Milwaukee last Sunday. OU was down two setters for the third match in a row against the HL first-place Panthers. The Golden Grizzlies led the match with 10 blocks but were bested in service aces (9-to-0), kills (52-to-24), assists (49-to-21), and digs (68-to-58). Walling paced the attack with a team-high eight kills, while senior
Jessica Riedl had her second-straight double-double with a team-leading 10 assists and 10 digs. Senior
Kerra Cornist controlled the net with a match-high five blocks.
SENIOR DAY MADNESS
The Golden Grizzlies celebrated Senior Day with a thrilling five-set victory over Cleveland State (10/29). Wightman totaled a season-high 37 digs and six assists, and two aces. Her 37 digs were good for the fourth-highest mark in school history and the 16th-most by an individual in a five-set Division I match this season. Walling broke a school record in career sets played, as she reached her 477th career set in the third period, which elevated her to the top spot in program history.
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-10 nationally in total digs (481, 6th) and digs per set (5.34, 10th). Senior
Jessica Riedl ranks second in the conference in blocks per set (1.04) and total blocks (95), while Walling possesses the top-10 marks in blocks (80), points (338.5), and total attacks (807). As a team, the Golden Grizzlies rank second in digs per set (15.96) and opponent hitting percentage (.186).
CHASING HISTORY
Walling sits second in school history with 1,435 career kills. She surpassed Melissa Deatsch (2013-16) earlier this season, 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 (361.0), points per set (3.61), kills (297), and kills per set (2.97), while also holding top-three team marks in digs (191), digs per set (1.91), blocks (88.0), and blocks per set (0.88).
DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Junior setter
AnnaBelle Tomei ranks first among teammates with five double-doubles. Last season, she led the Golden Grizzlies with seven in the category. Walling is close behind with three double-doubles, while Riedl sits third on the team with two.
BLOCK MACHINE
Dating back to the 2019 season, Riedl has recorded one or more blocks in 61 of her last 62 contests. She has totaled multiple blocks in 24 matches this season, including a career-high seven blocks against YSU (10/27). Her career average of 0.85 blocks per set is the ninth-highest mark in program history.
SHE'S KILLIN' IT
Redshirt freshman
Patti Cesarini ranks second on the team in kills per set (2.51) and total kills (251). In 43 career matches with the Golden Grizzlies, she has reached double-digit kills on 18 occasions, including 11 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 (.333, 1st), solo blocks (6, T-2nd), assists per set (3.74, 2nd), total assists (340, 2nd), block assists (46, 4th), total blocks (52.0, 4th), and blocks per set (0.57, 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. Ross has finished with five-plus kills, double-digit assists, and multiple blocks in six matches.
ACES FOR DAYS
Freshman
Emily Wichmann and Wightman lead the team in aces with 21 apiece. The pair have tallied multiple aces in a combined eight 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 489 assists in 24 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, Adams, and
Kira Buza. 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 222 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 Northern Kentucky, the Golden Grizzlies will face off against a conference opponent on Friday, Nov. 19, at the Horizon League Championship quarterfinals. The No. 1 seed will host the three-day tournament.
