ROCHESTER, Mich. - Bringing in a total of nine new student-athletes via either the transfer portal or high school ranks, the 2023 Oakland Volleyball team has a largely new-look roster and since the program began practicing on August 8, the cohesion and synergy among these new Golden Grizzlies has been encouraging.
“We’re excited about every single person in our program,” said second-year Head Coach Krista Rice.
“When you walk in the door on day one, you have excitement but you never know how the pieces will come together, especially when you have as large of a recruiting class as we did. When we’re recruiting we look at the combination of their skill, their personalities and how those differences blend and connect with our current group.”
With Oakland set to begin their 2023 campaign with an exhibition match against the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s (GLIAC) Grand Valley State Lakers at 4 p.m. on Saturday, August 19, we have been taking a look at the Golden Grizzlies’ roster and today’s piece, the second of four, will highlight the team’s setters, Crown Point, Indiana sophomore Rachel Rossman and Lugoff, South Carolina graduate student and Furman Paladins transfer Sarah Turner.
“Just like our defensive players are the quarterbacks of our defense, our setters are the quarterbacks of our offense,” Rice shared of their responsibilities.
“They're looking at a lot of different components, not only the strengths of our personnel, but they're looking at the other side of the net, identifying what strengths and weaknesses we may be facing, things we can take advantage of, along with matchups.”
Playing in 18 matches as a freshman and starting six, Rossman was third on the club with 281 assists a year ago, highlighted by 32 against the Evansville Purple Aces on September 17, and is someone who has particularly looked to be in midseason form since training began.
A Paladin legacy entering her first season in Rochester, Turner played four years for Furman in the Southern Conference (SoCon) and racked up 1,315 assists over the last two seasons, totaling at least 618 in both campaigns.
Following Saturday’s exhibition with Grand Valley State, the Golden Grizzlies will officially begin their 2023 slate by traveling to Credit Union 1 Arena to compete in the Chicago Classic from August 25-26.
