ROCHESTER, Mich. — The Oakland University volleyball program opened the Golden Grizzlies Invitational with a thrilling five-set victory over Bradley (25-19, 22-25, 25-19, 17-25, 16-14) on Friday evening at the Athletics Center O'rena.
The Golden Grizzlies (1-3), who played in front of a lively home-opening crowd, raced out to a 2-1 set lead, but Bradley (0-4) evened the match at two sets apiece following a decisive fourth-set win. With the fifth and final set tied late at 14-all, OU captured two-straight points off a
Jamie Walling kill and
Haley Brown service ace to clinch its first win of the 2021 season.
Offensively, OU displayed a balanced attack with four different Golden Grizzlies reaching double-digit kills. Redshirt-freshman
Patti Cesarini totaled a team-leading 13 kills in 48 tries. A trio of seniors in
Jessica Riedl,
Brittany Welch, and Walling finished close behind with 12 spikes each.
Oakland setters
AnnaBelle Tomei and
Madison Ross helped the attack with a combined 48 assists. Tomei led the team with 27 assists, while Ross had 21 of her own. Freshman
Emily Wichmann accounted for three of OU's season-high seven aces in the victory. She added 12 digs, which tied for second on the team with Walling.
Fifth-year standout
Lindsay Wightman was impressive as usual on defense with a match-high 31 digs. The dig total marked her ninth career match with 30-plus in the category. It was also the 25th time in program history that a player recorded 31 or more digs in a single match. Senior
Kerra Cornist and Walling tied for the team lead in blocks with three apiece. Riedl, Ross, and Cesarini contributed as well, with two blocks each.
OU took control early with an opening-set win. The set was even at 8-all, but the Golden Grizzlies responded with a 5-1 run to garner a 13-9 advantage. Oakland held on to the lead for the remainder of the set, resulting in a 25-19 finish.
The momentum swung to Bradley's side in set two as the Braves carried an 11-6 lead into an OU timeout. While the Golden Grizzlies inched away to tie the set at 19-all following a Walling kill, the visiting squad edged OU for a 25-22 set victory.
Oakland answered back with a 25-19 win in set three. The Golden Grizzlies looked poised in the set as they led for the entirety of the period. Welch anchored the attack with five kills, while Wightman tallied six digs defensively. Meanwhile, the Braves were limited to a .000 hitting percentage in 41 attempts.
Once again, Bradley responded with a 25-17 set victory to tie the match, 2-2. Eight errors in the set plagued the Golden Grizzlies. Meanwhile, the Braves had a team hitting percentage of .286, their best in five sets.
The Golden Grizzlies jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the match-deciding fifth set. Bradley quickly erased their deficit with a 5-1 run to tie the set at 6-all. Both teams proceeded to go back-and-forth, but Oakland had the final push, managing to squeeze out a 16-14 set win.
OU will close the Golden Grizzlies Invitational on Sunday, September 5, against in-state foe Eastern Michigan at 2 p.m.
#GrizzVision with Rob Beam
