YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The Oakland University women's volleyball team closed its regular season with a doubleheader sweep over the Youngstown State Penguins on Tuesday afternoon inside the Beeghly Center. The Golden Grizzlies cruised to straight-set victories in both matches to improve to 7-9 in Horizon League play, while the Penguins dropped to 3-11 on the season. 


Sophomore outside hitter Brittany Welch had an all-around performance in the series-opening win (25-21, 25-22, 25-13) with 11 kills at a .333 hitting clip, seven digs, three service aces, and one block. The trio of Patti Cesarini (8 kills/.156%), Anna Nie (6 kills/.375%), and Jamie Walling (6 kills/.118%) contributed to the attack with five or more kills. Sophomore setter AnnaBelle Tomei registered her seventh double-double of the season with 22 assists and 10 digs. 

Senior Libero Lindsay Wightman was dominant on the defensive end with 30 digs. The dig total marked the second time in school history an individual has reached 30 digs in a three-set match. Lauren Duquette, Oakland's school-record holder in career digs, tallied 30 digs in a 3-0 victory over North Dakota State on October 26, 2007. To add, Wightman's 30-dig performance was the third-highest mark in an NCAA Division I three-set match this season. It also marked the third time this season she has reached the 30-dig plateau.

Kerra Cornist, Jessica Riedl, and Anna Nie limited the Penguin attack with four blocks apiece. The Golden Grizzlies totaled 10.0 blocks, good for their second-highest amount of the season. 

Oakland raced out to a 15-10 advantage in the opening set, but YSU answered back with a 6-0 run to take a 16-15 lead. Later in the set with the score tied at 18-all, the Golden Grizzlies went on a 7-3 run to clinch a 25-21 set win. Welch led the charge with four kills and two aces, while Cesarini tabbed five kills in 15 swings. 

OU opened the following set with a 7-0 run. The Penguins inched within one point, 21-20, after an attack error by Oakland. However, the Golden Grizzlies never relinquished their lead to finish on top, 25-22. Wightman was the star of the set, as she tallied 13 of her match-high 30 digs in the frame along with two aces.

The Golden Grizzlies got off to another hot start in the third set with a 7-1 advantage. YSU failed to gain any momentum, as the hosting squad trailed by five-plus points for the remainder of the set. OU earned victory by winning the set by a score of 25-13. The Oakland defense flexed its muscles in the set with 5.0 blocks while limiting the Penguin attack to five kills.


Oakland closed the doubleheader with a commanding three-set decision (25-17, 25-19, 25-13) over YSU. The Golden Grizzlies recorded a season-high .358 hitting percentage while limiting the Penguins to a .068 hitting rate. 

Cesarini tallied double-digit kills for the eighth time in her freshman campaign, as she finished with a match-high 11 spikes. Welch (8 kills/.294%), Walling (6 kills/.455%), Jessica Riedl (6 kills/.333%), and Nie (6 kills/.400%) were also focal points in the OU attack. Tomei and Madison Ross combined for 35 assists with totals of 21 and 16, respectively. 

Once again, Wightman led the defense with a match-best 22 digs to go along with a career-high seven aces. The seven aces matched a school record with Meghan Bray (vs. Western Illinois 11/12/11) and Becca Moeller (vs. Centenary 9/27/03). Welch finished second on the team with five digs. Cornist led the middle with a team-high four block assists.  

The Golden Grizzlies led 15-13 midway through the first set of the season finale. OU managed to pull away from the Penguins with a 10-2 run to win the opening set, 25-17. The duo of Welch and Cesarini directed the offense with five kills apiece. As a team, Oakland hit .394 in the frame. 

The second set was tied at 11-all following a service error by the Golden Grizzlies. Oakland then went on a 6-0 run to force a YSU timeout leading 18-12. OU held on to its lead to finish on top, 25-19. Cesarini, Walling, and Riedl combined for 13 of Oakland's 16 kills in the set. Wightman tallied eight of her 22 digs in the frame as well. 

Oakland led for almost the entirety of the match-deciding third set. YSU scored the first point of the frame, but OU quickly took a 2-1 advantage and led the rest of the way for a 25-13 set victory. Wightman dished out four aces in the set, while eight different Golden Grizzlies garnered a kill. 

The doubleheader marked the conclusion of the regular season for Oakland. The top four teams in the conference standings after the regular season will advance to the Horizon League Volleyball Championship from March 28 to April 3. The highest-available seed will host in the semifinal and championship round.