CLEVELAND — The Oakland University women's volleyball program topped Cleveland State in straight-sets (25-18, 25-14, 26-24) Tuesday evening inside the Woodling Gymnasium. The Golden Grizzlies improved to 3-3 overall with the Horizon League victory, while the Vikings dropped to 4-4.
The OU offense bounced back from yesterday's loss by hitting .283 in the match with 41 kills on 40 assists. OU recorded five service aces along with 53 digs in the minimum three sets.
Jessica Riedl led the Golden Grizzlies with a team-best 11 kills at a .450 hitting clip, while
Jamie Walling tallied nine kills (.412%), three block assists, and one ace. Outside hitters
Patti Cesarini and
Brittany Welch contributed to the Oakland attack with kill totals of seven and eight, respectively.
AnnaBelle Tomei (20 assists) and
Madison Ross (15 assists) paced the OU setters with double-digit assists.
Defensively,
Lindsay Wightman totaled a match-high 25 digs. Welch also hit double-figure digs with 10.
Kerra Cornist was dominant in the middle, as she notched a match-best seven block assists. As a team, Oakland tied its season-high with 8.0 blocks.
The Golden Grizzlies came out firing in the first set, as their lead grew to 11-6 following a kill by Walling. Oakland did not allow the Vikings to get within three points for the remainder of the set and cruised to a 25-18 set win.
Oakland got in front 11-7 in the second set after consecutive attack errors by CSU. The Golden Grizzlies rattled off four-straight points to extend their lead to 16-9 that proved insurmountable. OU tallied nine kills on an efficient .350 hitting percentage in the set, while Cleveland State struggled with nine errors and a .000 hitting mark.
CSU jumped out to a 3-0 advantage in the third set and grew its lead to five points, 14-9, after two unanswered points. OU slowly inched back, but found themselves trailing 22-24 at the set point. The Golden Grizzlies rallied in front with four-straight points on two kills and two CSU errors to clinch a 26-24 set win and their third conference victory of the season.
The Golden Grizzlies are back in action next Monday (Feb. 22) for a two-match series versus Green Bay. First serve is set for 5 p.m.
