ROCHESTER, Mich. — The Oakland University volleyball program will conclude its regular-season road schedule with matches at Green Bay on Thursday, Nov. 4, UIC on Friday, Nov. 5, and Milwaukee on Sunday, Nov. 7. All three matches will air on ESPN+. Live stats will also be provided. 

THE SLATE

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November 4 at Green Bay | 7 p.m. | Watch | Live Stats
November 5 at UIC | 7 p.m. | Watch | Live Stats
November 7 at Milwaukee | Watch | Live Stats

SCOUTING THE PHOENIX

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Green Bay is 11-15 overall and 6-8 in conference play. The Phoenix were above .500 at 6-5 against HL competition but then lost to Milwaukee, Northern Kentucky, and Wright State. GB has excelled with 169 aces, which ranks 12th in the country. Redshirt sophomore Calli Gentry has paced the offense with a conference-leading 9.98 assists per set, and she ranks fourth nationally with 978 total assists.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. GREEN BAY

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The all-time series between OU and Green Bay is tied at 12 apiece. 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 three wins in a row over the Phoenix. The Golden Grizzlies rallied to defeat GB in five sets at home in early October. Redshirt freshman Patti Cesarini was the star of the show with a career-high 17 kills in the win.

SCOUTING THE FLAMES

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UIC is slightly ahead of Oakland in the HL standings at 9-3 overall. The Flames have experienced winning streaks of three and five matches against conference competition but fell to Northern Kentucky in four sets in their most recent contest. UIC had matches against Wright State and NKU — the top-two teams in the HL — canceled due to multiple positive COVID-19 cases within the Flames tier-one individuals. Senior outside hitter Paolo Santiago ranks third in the league in kills per set (3.67) and points per set (4.24). Sophomore outside hitter Martina Delucchi ranks 22nd nationally in aces with 37. 

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. UIC

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Oakland leads 11-7 in the overall series against UIC. Before the 2021 season, the Golden Grizzlies dropped three-straight matches to the Flames. However, OU extinguished UIC in four sets earlier this season, handing the program its first Horizon League loss of the year. Graduate senior Jamie Walling led the charge with a team-leading 15 kills to go along with seven digs and three blocks. Junior Haley Brown had one of her strongest performances of the year with 10 digs and two aces.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS

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Milwaukee is 18-8 on the season with impressive non-conference wins over Cincinnati and Notre Dame. The Panthers are also in first place in the HL with a 12-2 record. MKE opened its conference slate at a perfect 12-0 but followed with losses to Northern Kentucky and Wright State on the road. As a team, Milwaukee leads the nation in kills (1,383) and assists (1,309) while also holding top-25 marks in assists per set (5th, 13.36), kills per set (12th, 14.11), digs (18th, 1,526), and total attacks (3,443). Individually, two-time All-Horizon League honoree Ari Miller ranks 25th in the country in points (411.0). 

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. MILWAUKEE

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MKE leads the all-time series 10-9. The Panthers have held the advantage as of late with three consecutive wins over OU. Earlier this season, Milwaukee took down the Golden Grizzlies in straight sets at the O'rena. Walling paced Oakland with nine kills, 15 digs, and two blocks. 

SENIOR DAY MADNESS

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The Golden Grizzlies celebrated Senior Day with a thrilling five-set victory over Cleveland State last Friday. Fifth-year senior Lindsay 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 10th-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. 

HL STANDINGS

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The Golden Grizzlies are fifth in the Horizon League standings at 9-4. Milwaukee leads the pack at 12-2, while Northern Kentucky and Wright State are slightly behind with records of 11-2 and 10-3, respectively. UIC sits fourth in the standings at 9-3, just a half-game ahead of Oakland.

REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK

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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

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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

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Walling sits second in school history with 1,417 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 (338.5), points per set (3.72), kills (279), and kills per set (3.07), while also holding top-three team marks in digs (177), digs per set (2.06), blocks (76.0), blocks per set (0.88), service aces (17), and aces per set (0.20).

DOUBLE-DOUBLES

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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 on the season. 

LET'S GO STREAKING

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Dating back to the 2019 season, Riedl has recorded one or more blocks in 59 straight contests. She has totaled multiple blocks in 23 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

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Cesarini ranks second on the team in kills per set (2.64) and total kills (240). In 40 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

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Junior setter Madison Ross possesses top-five team marks in hitting percentage (.333, 1st), solo blocks (6, T-1st), 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

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Freshman Emily Wichmann and Wightman lead the team in aces with 19 apiece. The pair have tallied multiple aces in a combined eight matches.

1K CLUB

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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 through 24 matches this season.

IN THIS TOGETHER

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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After Milwaukee, the Golden Grizzlies will wrap up the regular season with home matches against Wright State on Friday, Nov. 12, and Northern Kentucky on Saturday, Nov. 13.