ROCHESTER, Mich. — The Oakland University volleyball program continues Horizon League play with a home contest versus Purdue Fort Wayne on Tuesday, Sept. 28 at 6 p.m. Spectators are encouraged to drop off crayons, which will be donated to area children's hospitals.
September 28 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne | 6 p.m. |
Live Stats |
Match Program
SCOUTING THE MASTODONS
Purdue Fort Wayne is 2-14 overall and 0-3 in HL play. The Mastodons defeated Western Michigan and Liberty earlier this season but have lost their last eight matches. Last week, PFW fell in five sets to Green Bay and UIC, while Milwaukee knocked off the 'Dons, 3-1. Reigning Horizon League Player of the Year, Katie Crowe, leads the conference in kills (213), attacks (619), and points (243.0). As a team, the 'Dons rank 18th nationally with 671 assists.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. PFW
Oakland trails 34-21 in the overall series versus PFW. The 'Dons took the lead in the series by winning 18-straight matches from 1994 to 2010, and OU has responded by winning six of the last 12 matchups. Last season, the Golden Grizzlies dropped a pair of home games to Purdue Fort Wayne.
WEEKEND RECAP
OU opened conference action with a pair of straight-set victories on the road. The Golden Grizzlies got things going with a 3-0 win at Youngstown State and followed with a sweep over Robert Morris. Fifth-year senior
Lindsay Wightman paced the team by averaging 8.33 digs per set and 0.50 service aces per set on the weekend. Senior
Jessica Riedl stood out with team-leading marks in hitting percentage (.519), blocks (9), and blocks per set (1.50).
REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK
Wightman has broken multiple school records in the last two weeks. Against Central Michigan, Wightman totaled 32 digs to surpass Lauren Duquette (2005-08) into the top spot for career digs in program history. The Lake Orion, Mich., native finished with 33 digs in Oakland's straight-set win at YSU, which broke the previous record mark for digs in a three-set match held by herself and one other. Last season, she set a single-season school record in digs per set (6.31) and matched a school record for aces in a match (7).
CONFERENCE MARKS
Wightman's 5.63 digs per set sit atop the Horizon League and ninth nationally. To add, she ranks second in the conference with 259 total digs, good for 22nd in the country. Graduate senior
Jamie Walling holds top-five HL marks in points per set (3rd, 4.26) and kills per set (4th, 3.60), while Riedl ranks fourth in the league in total blocks (48) and fifth in blocks per set (1.02). As a team, the Golden Grizzlies rank second among HL teams in blocks per set (2.15) and hitting percentage (.236).
CHASING HISTORY
Walling sits second in school history with 1,307 career kills. Three weekends ago, Walling surpassed Melissa Deatsch (2013-16), who previously ranked second with 1,244 kills. Hall of Honor inductee Meghan Bray (2009-12) leads the category with 1,578 career spikes.
LET'S GO STREAKING
Dating back to the 2019 season, Riedl has recorded one or more blocks in 48 straight contests. She has totaled multiple blocks in all 13 matches this season, including a season-high six blocks at DePaul and YSU.
SHE'S KILLIN' IT
Redshirt freshman
Patti Cesarini ranks second on the team in kills per set (3.60) and total kills (125). In 29 career matches with the Golden Grizzlies, she has reached double-digit kills on 15 occasions, including seven times this season.
1K CLUB
Junior setter
AnnaBelle Tomei became the eighth Golden Grizzly in program history to reach 1,000 career assists in Oakland's tournament-opening sweep against Penn. Needing 17 assists to reach the 1,000 assist plateau, she finished with a team-best 20. The setter totaled 548 assists in her debut season with the Golden Grizzlies, followed by 315 assists in her sophomore campaign and 278 assists through 13 matches this season.
MORE THAN AN ATHLETE
As a team, the Golden Grizzlies have earned the AVCA Team Academic Award for six straight years. The award honors volleyball teams with a year-long grade-point average of 3.30 on a 4.0 scale or 4.10 on a 5.0 scale. OU compiled an impressive 3.56 GPA to close out the 2020-21 academic year. Sixteen members of the Golden Grizzly volleyball program earned a GPA above 3.0, highlighted by
Haley Brown and
Katelyn Johnson, who turned in a perfect 4.0 GPA in the spring.
THAT'S OUR COACH
Head coach
Rob Beam is in his 15th season with the Golden Grizzlies. As the longest-tenured volleyball coach in school history, Beam has guided Oakland to nine winning seasons and a berth to the NCAA Volleyball Tournament in 2014. He has accumulated 215 victories, second in school history, reaching the 200-win plateau during the 2019 campaign. Most recently, Beam helped OU to a 7-9 record during the Covid-19 shortened 2021 winter season.
MEET THE STAFF
Amber Hildebrandt enters her first year as an associate coach with the Golden Grizzlies. No stranger to Rochester, Hildebrandt (then Miehlke) competed at OU from 2009-12 and later served as a volunteer assistant under Beam in 2014. In addition to her time at Oakland, she has coached at Appalachian State (2015-16, 2019-21) and Xavier (2016-17). Graduate assistant
Bekah Strange is set to go for her second season with the Black and Gold. As a four-year starter at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Strange totaled 1,812 career digs, good for third place in school history. As a senior, she was named Atlantic 10 Libero of the Year and an AVCA All-East Region selection.
NEXT UP
Following Tuesday's home match, the Golden Grizzlies will head back on the road for a contest at Cleveland State on Oct. 1. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
