SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The Oakland University volleyball team finished just shy of an upset over tournament host and No. 25 ranked Notre Dame in a five-set loss (13-25, 16-25, 25-14, 25-21, 13-15) on Saturday for its final match at the Golden Dome Invitational.
The Golden Grizzlies (0-3) dropped the opening two sets to the Fighting Irish (1-1) but responded with consecutive set victories to force a match-deciding fifth period. Late in the set, the programs were tied at 12-all following consecutive kills by tournament standout
Jamie Walling. However, Notre Dame earned three of the next four points to clinch the victory.
Walling, a middle hitter who returned for a fifth-season sporting the Black and Gold due to the Covid-19 pandemic, shined on both sides. She totaled a match-best 21 kills with a .356 hitting percentage and added four digs, three blocks, and one service ace. On the tournament, Walling averaged a robust 4.25 kills per set at a .379 hitting clip. Redshirt freshman
Patti Cesarini was also impressive with 15 kills, six digs, two blocks, and a single ace.
A pair of junior setters in
AnnaBelle Tomei and
Madison Ross accounted for 42 of Oakland's 49 total assists in the loss. Tomei led the team with 30 assists, while Ross had 12 of her own.
Defensively, fifth-year senior
Lindsay Wightman tallied a team-high 23 digs, which marked the third-straight match with a dig total above 20. Meanwhile, senior
Kerra Cornist excelled against the Notre Dame attack with four blocks. In total, six different Golden Grizzlies notched two or more blocks.
Oakland's start against the Fighting Irish did not go as planned, as the tournament host advantaged from late runs to win the opening set, 25-13, and following set, 25-16. Down two sets to none, the Golden Grizzlies found themselves down once again, 7-6, in set three. However, OU earned eight of the next nine points to get in front, 14-8. Notre Dame attempted to rally, bringing its deficit to four, 16-12, but Oakland responded with a 6-0 run, resulting in a comfortable 21-12 lead. A kill by Walling followed by a Fighting Irish error clinched a 25-14 set three victory to keep the Golden Grizzlies' hopes alive.
Notre Dame held an 11-7 edge over OU in the fourth set, but the Golden Grizzlies regrouped with an 8-3 run to take a 15-14 advantage past the midway point. Oakland did not let go of its lead from that point forward, which resulted in a 25-21 set win.
OU opened an early 2-0 advantage in the final and fifth set, as Tomei tallied a service ace followed by Walling and Cornist combining for a block. The Fighting Irish then took control with a narrow 8-5 lead but lost it with three straight attack errors. With the set tied at 8-all, Notre Dame punched back with a 4-1 run that brought the score to 12-9. Once again, OU showed resiliency with three straight points to even the set, 12-12, punctuated by consecutive kills by Walling. Despite the potential change in momentum, Notre Dame made one final push to earn a match-clinching 15-13 set win.
Oakland will return to action next weekend to host the Golden Grizzlies Invitational from Sept. 3-5.
