ROCHESTER, Mich. — The Oakland University women's volleyball team welcomes Wright State on Monday (Feb. 5) and Tuesday (Feb. 6) for its home opener of the 2021 season. Both matches will commence at 5 p.m. inside the Athletics Center O'rena. The series will air on ESPN+ with
Neal Ruhl, the Voice of the Golden Grizzlies, on-call.
Live Stats |
ESPN+ (Monday) | ESPN+ (Tuesday) |
Full Schedule
THOUGHTS FROM COACH BEAM
"It is exciting to be back in the O'rena for our first time competing since November of 2019. Coincidentally, that match was also against Wright State. For our student-athletes, this is a chance to play in a familiar environment. While there will not be fans present, I know our team will feel the energy of playing on the blacktop. We have a great home environment and being here will be a lift for all of us."
"The bye week has been good in terms of training and taking steps to improve on things we saw at Robert Morris. Going 2-0 while knowing we can perform better is a great thing. I believe our players are dialing in some critical skills in the gym and on film. We are working on our system and trying to refine our offense. While we put up great numbers, we are determined to grow and improve."
"In terms of the matchup, this is going to be exciting. Both teams are athletic and outstanding defensively. As the reigning regular-season champion, with a significant portion of their team intact, we know the Raiders will present a challenge. However, we are up for it and want this kind of test, especially early in the season. Our team is young but hungry and eager to step up. I expect two outstanding battles, both physically on the court and in tactics between the coaching staffs."
INSIDE THE SERIES
• Oakland leads 13-9
• At Home: 7-2
• At WSU: 5-6
• Neutral Site: 1-1
• First Meeting: 10/20/84, Oakland lost, 2-0
• Last Meeting: 11/16/19, Oakland lost, 3-1
• Series Note: The Golden Grizzlies have won 13 of their last 16 matches against the Raiders.
NOTES
> Freshman outside hitter
Patti Cesarini was named Horizon League Player of the Week (1/28) after averaging 4.0 kills per set at a .267 clip in Oakland's series sweep at Robert Morris. In her collegiate debut, Cesarini tied for a team-high in kills with 16 to lift OU to a thrilling five-set victory over RMU. Her strong play continued in the next match, as she tallied 16 kills, hitting .429 with just one error in three sets.
> OU leads 13-9 in the overall series. The Golden Grizzlies have lost three straight to the Raiders but won the previous 13 matches. The 13-match winning streak spanned from August 2011 to October 2018. Last season, Oakland fell in four sets to WSU.
Jamie Walling tallied 11 digs while
Kenzie Dunn had a team-best 21 assists in the contest. Defensively,
Lindsay Wightman totaled a team-high 18 digs.
> Walling is 12 kills shy of becoming the ninth player in school history to reach the 1,000-kill club. The senior has totaled 350-plus kills the last two seasons, including a career-best 364 as a sophomore.
Sammy Condon was the most recent Golden Grizzly to achieve the program mark, as she finished with 1,070 kills after the 2017 season.
> Wightman ranks fifth in school history in career digs with 1,325. She is 126 digs away from surpassing Brittany Dunn (1,451 digs) for fourth place in the all-time category. Lauren Duquette (2008 alum) is the program leader in career digs with 1,841.
> Oakland ranks third in the Horizon League in hitting percentage (.261), opponent hitting percentage (.156), assists per set (11.88), kills per set (13.38), and digs per set (18.13) through two matches. The Golden Grizzlies also rank in the HL top-five in service aces per set (1.75), blocks per set (2.0), and opponent kills (11.50).
>
Jessica Riedl leads the conference with a .483 hitting percentage and has totaled 15 kills compared to just one error in eight sets. Riedl opened the season with eight kills, hitting .389 in the process. She tallied seven kills at a .636 hitting clip in Oakland's series closer at RMU.
> Cesarini is averaging 4.0 kills per set, which ranks second in the HL. The newcomer is seventh in the conference in overall kills (32) despite playing two fewer matches compared to the six ranked in front of her.
> Wightman is averaging 5.38 digs per set, good for third in the conference. The senior has totaled 10-plus digs in 15-straight matches dating back to the 2019 season.
> The HL approved a 16-match schedule against eight conference opponents over nine weeks. The conference format features a Monday-Tuesday two-match split versus seven teams and a one-day doubleheader in the final week of competition.
> Oakland is under the direction of 14th-year head coach
Rob Beam, who guided the Golden Grizzlies to an 8-8 mark in conference play and an overall record of 15-14 in 2019. Beam has helped OU finish fourth or higher in the league standings in eight of the last 10 seasons. In 2014, Beam led Oakland to its first-ever berth to the NCAA Volleyball Tournament.
> The Golden Grizzlies return a pair of 2019 Honorable Mention All-League selections in Walling and Wightman. Walling, a middle hitter, ranked inside the conference top-10 in points per set (third / 3.97), kills per set (fourth / 3.31), and hitting percentage (eighth / .280), while Wightman was second in the conference in digs per set (5.31) and first on the team in total digs (478). Other key returners include 2019 All-Freshman team recipient
Brittany Welch, along with Riedl and Annabelle Tomei.
> OU welcomed four newcomers — all freshman — in
Kennedy Dolmage,
Anna Nie,
Libby Cleaveland, and Cesarini.
> Oakland was picked fifth in the 2021 Horizon League preseason coaches poll. The Golden Grizzlies tabbed 66 points overall in the poll, which was voted on by the league's 11 head coaches. Defending HL champion Wright State (112) was picked to win the conference and tallied a league-high five first-place votes.
