CHICAGO — The Oakland University volleyball program extended its win streak to five matches with victories over Akron (25-10, 25-20, 25-15) and tournament host DePaul (22-25, 25-15, 25-16, 25-22) at the DePaul Invitational on Saturday.
At the conclusion of play, fifth-year senior
Jamie Walling was named Most Valuable Player of the DePaul Invitational. Senior
Jessica Riedl and junior
AnnaBelle Tomei earned spots on the All-Tournament Team.
Oakland (5-3) extended its win streak to four with a straight-set victory over the Akron Zips (6-3). The win also marked the third-straight sweep for the Golden Grizzlies, their longest stretch since the 2017 season.
As a team, OU hit .400 with 41 kills and just five errors. Meanwhile, the Zips were limited to season-lows in hitting percentage (.039) and kills (25). Defensively, Oakland recorded a season-best 13.0 blocks, despite the match ending in three sets.
The Golden Grizzlies were led by junior
Madison Ross, who posted a career-high seven blocks and added 13 assists, five kills, and three digs. Riedl was also impressive with six kills on just nine swings (.667) to go along with five blocks.
In addition to the defensive prowess of Ross and Riedl, senior
Kerra Cornist ranked second on the team with five blocks. Fifth-year senior
Lindsay Wightman tacked on a match-leading 14 digs.
On the offensive side of things, redshirt freshman
Patti Cesarini led the team with 10 kills on 21 swings (.429). A pair of seniors in Walling and
Brittany Welch finished close behind with kill totals of nine and eight, respectively. Tomei helped out the attack with a match-best 15 assists.
The Golden Grizzlies took care of business with a 25-10 set victory in the opening frame. OU combined for five team blocks in the period, highlighted by Riedl with four block assists and another three by Ross. In the attack, Oakland hit .500 with 12 kills on 24 attempts. Walling and Welch paced the offense with three kills apiece.
Oakland finished on top, 25-20, in the following set. Cesarini caught fire with six kills on 11 swings (.455), while junior
Haley Brown paced the defense with five digs. The Golden Grizzlies were down 3-2 to Akron early in the set but responded with a 6-0 run to take an 8-3 advantage. From that point forward, OU led for the remainder of the set.
OU closed with the match with a 25-15 win in set three. Five different Golden Grizzlies tallied multiple kills in the set, including three each by Ross, Walling, and Welch. Oakland also totaled 5.0 team blocks, highlighted by Cornist with three block assists.
Down 21-16 in the fourth set, the Golden Grizzlies rallied back with a 9-1 run to earn a match-clinching 25-22 set victory. As a team, Oakland hit .331 with 55 kills compared to 11 errors. Oakland managed to out-perform the Blue Demons (4-5) in striking percentage (.331-to-.161), kills (55-to-49), aces (6-to-1), blocks (8-to-3), assists (45-to-39), and digs (56-to-43).
Walling led OU, who totaled a match-best 21 kills with a .400 hitting percentage to go along with seven digs, four blocks, and two aces. Five of her 21 kills transpired during Oakland's shocking 9-1 run in the fourth set. Riedl's strong play continued, as she finished with 11 kills in just 19 tries (.579) and added a match-leading six blocks. Tomei contributed offensively with a match-high 27 assists, while Ross had 16 assists of her own.
Defensively, Wightman and freshman
Kennedy Dolmage finished with double-figure dig totals of 13 and 12, respectively. Cesarini, Cornist, and Ross tallied two blocks apiece.
With the opening set tied at 6-all, DePaul got in front, 12-7, following a 6-1 run. The Blue Demon held on for a 25-22 victory, resulting in the Golden Grizzlies' first set loss in almost two weeks.
In the following set, Oakland jumped out to a 10-1 lead and never looked back. The finishing result was a 25-15 set victory. Walling found a rhythm with four kills, while Welch controlled on defense with three block assists.
The Golden Grizzlies got off to another hot start in set three with an early 5-0 advantage. DePaul failed to get within five from that point forward, as OU finished on top, 25-16. Oakland hit .409 in the period with 12 kills in 22 attempts. Once again, Walling led the offense with four kills on just five swings (.800). Cornist, Riedl, and Welch helped the attack with three kills each. Meanwhile, the Blue Demons were held to a .029 striking percentage.
The fourth and final set featured 13 ties and eight lead changes. DePaul was bound to earn the set victory, as the hosting squad led 21-16. Despite the late lead, Oakland scored nine out of the next 10 points to garner a 25-22 set victory. Both Walling and Riedl came away with five kills in the period, while Tomei tallied six assists and four digs.
The Golden Grizzlies will return to action next weekend at the Green and White Classic, taking on Central Michigan and Michigan State.
