ROCHESTER, Mich. – After three-straight home matches, the Oakland Volleyball team will head to Cleveland State on Friday, Nov. 3 to take on the Vikings at 6 p.m. from Wooding Gymnasium. Friday's match will be broadcast on ESPN+
 
Oakland (15-11, 9-5 HL) is coming off a 3-1 set back to Wright State but has won three of its last four matches.
 
A win on Friday against the Vikings would give the Golden Grizzlies 10 conference wins on the year, a feat the program hasn't accomplished since the 2017 season.  
 
The Golden Grizzlies and Cleveland State met back on Oct. 6 at the OU Credit Union O'rena where Oakland came out on top with a 3-1 win. Oakland earned its win behind 14 kills from Patti Cesarini and Libby Gentile. Freshman Gentry Brown rounded out Oakland's double-digit kill leaders with 10 kills. Sarah Turner and Rachel Rossman set the Golden Grizzlies to a .240 hitting percentage with 32 and 22 assists respectively, while Kennedy Dolmage paced Oakland defensively recording a career-best 23 digs. 
 
Wichmann is coming off a solid week performance as the junior was named Under Armour Horizon League Volleyball Player of the Week the conference announced Monday. The Crescent Springs, Ky. native led the Golden Grizzlies defensively to help guide the Black and Gold to a 2-1 week. The junior registered an impressive 78 digs averaging 5.57 per set and tallied 10 assists and three aces. It marks the first career Horizon League Player of the Week honor for Wichmann and the first Golden Grizzly to earn recognition this season.

Wichmann leads the conference in digs and currently sits second in the country with 557 (5.41/set). As a team, Oakland has recorded the most digs in the NCAA with 1,787 (17.35/set).
 
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
Cleveland State (14-11, 8-6 HL) looks to snap a two-game skid after falling to Northern Kentucky and Wright State in straight sets last weekend. Prior to last weekend's games, the Vikings were riding a five-game win streak.
 
The Vikings have remained a defensive threat leading the Horizon League in blocks per set (2.41). Five Vikings rank in the top-25 in the conference in blocks. JeriLynn Koehler (1.02/5^th), Madison Olinger (1.00/6^th), Ainslie McLaughlin (0.85/12^th), Madalynn Butler (0.65/21^st), Nia Hall (0.59/25^th). Emma Walker leads the Vikings in digs with 4.99/set, placing her third in the league.
 
Oakland enters Friday's match looking for its first road win against the Vikings since 2020. CSU has the advantage in the all-time series, 20-11.

FOLLOW OAKLAND
Student-athletes, parents, and fans can follow Oakland Volleyball on social media using @OaklandWVB on Twitter and Instagram. The Gold Standard Name, Image, and Likeness Marketplace is available to bridge NIL opportunities for student-athletes and can be found here via Opendorse.

Additionally, the Oakland University Athletics app is available for download in the Apple and Google Play Stores.