ROCHESTER, Mich. — The Oakland University volleyball program continues Horizon League play with a road matchup on Friday, Oct. 1, at Cleveland State. First serve at the Woodling Gymnasium is set for 6 p.m. The match will air on ESPN+.  

October 1 at Cleveland State | 6 p.m. | Watch (ESPN+) | Live Stats

SCOUTING THE VIKINGS

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Cleveland State opened the season 2-2 but dropped its next seven matches. Despite the slow start, the Vikings are tied for first place in the Horizon League standings after winning their first three conference matches against Robert Morris, Youngstown State, and IUPUI. Junior outside hitter Peyton Bloomer has paced the offense with team-leading marks in kills per set (2.67) and total kills (120), while sophomore setter Abby Miller has helped out by averaging 7.98 assists per set. Defensively, sophomore middle hitter Ainslie McLaughlin has totaled a team-high 39 blocks, averaging 0.98 per set. 

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. CSU

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OU trails 16-10 in the all-time series. Oakland lost its first seven career matchups against CSU, but broke the skid during the 2012 season with a thrilling five-set victory. The win swung the momentum, as Oakland went 6-2 in the following eight meetings. Cleveland State has regained control over the last five years, going 7-3 in the span. 

LAST TIME OUT

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The Golden Grizzlies improved to 3-0 in conference play after taking down Purdue Fort Wayne in five sets at the Athletics Center O'rena. Oakland was down 2-1 in sets but rallied back with consecutive set victories to clinch the home victory. Senior Kerra Cornist stood out on both sides, as she finished with a career-high 14 kills on just 23 swings (.435 hitting percentage) and added six blocks. Junior AnnaBelle Tomei was also impressive with a team-best 29 assists and 16 digs.

FEELS LIKE 2009

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Oakland is 9-5 overall, good for its best start through 14 matches since 2009 when the Golden Grizzlies opened the year at 11-3 overall. OU is 3-0 in conference play for the first time in five years, as the 2016 squad won their first three HL games before falling to Northern Kentucky on the road. 

REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK

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Fifth-year senior Lindsay Wightman has broken multiple school records in the last two weeks. Against Central Michigan (9/17), 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 (9/24), breaking the previous record mark that she and one other held. Last season, Wightman set a single-season school record in digs per set (6.31) and matched a school record for aces in a match (7). The pair of career performances has resulted in Wightman earning Horizon League Player of the Week twice.  

CONFERENCE MARKS

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Wightman's 5.59 digs per set sit atop the Horizon League and eighth nationally. To add, she ranks second in the conference with 285 total digs, good for 10th in the country. Graduate senior Jamie Walling holds a top-five HL mark in points per set (4th, 4.04), while another senior in Jessica Riedl, ranks fifth in the league in total blocks (50). As a team, the Golden Grizzlies rank second among HL teams in hitting percentage (.228) and third in blocks per set (2.12). 

CHASING HISTORY

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Walling sits second in school history with 1,314 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

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Dating back to the 2019 season, Riedl has recorded one or more blocks in 49 straight contests. She has totaled multiple blocks in all 14 matches this season, including a season-high six blocks at DePaul and YSU. 

SHE'S KILLIN' IT

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Redshirt freshman Patti Cesarini ranks second on the team in kills per set (2.67) and total kills (139). In 30 career matches with the Golden Grizzlies, she has reached double-digit kills on 16 occasions, including eight times this season.

SHE CAN DO IT ALL

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Junior setter Madison Ross possesses top-five team marks in hitting percentage (.333, 1st), solo blocks (5, 1st), assists per set (3.65, 2nd), total assists (190, 2nd), block assists (25, 4th), total blocks (30.0), and blocks per set (0.58, 4th). In OU's straight-set win over Akron, she finished with a career-high seven blocks to go along with five kills on 13 swings (.385), 13 assists, and three digs. 

ACES FOR DAYS

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Freshman Emily Wichmann is tied for the team lead in service aces with 12. She has recorded at least one ace in nine matches, including a career-high three in OU's five-set win over Bradley. 

1K CLUB

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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 307 assists through 14 matches this season.

IN THIS TOGETHER

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The Golden Grizzlies bring back all 17 student-athletes on their roster from a season ago. Senior Brittany Welch, Walling, Wightman, Cesarini, Ross, Riedl, and Tomei appeared in every set last season. 

WELCOME TO THE FAM

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OU welcomes three newcomers to the program in Wichmann, Kira Buza, and Clarke Adams. The freshman trio arrives in Rochester from Houston, Texas (Adams), Crescent Springs, Ky. (Wichmann), and nearby Shelby Township, Mich. (Buza).

MORE THAN AN ATHLETE

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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

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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 216 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

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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

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Following Cleveland State, the Golden Grizzlies will head back to Rochester for a three-match homestand. Oakland will face off against Milwaukee, UIC, and Green Bay over four days at the O'rena.