CARBONDALE, Ill. - Stringing together multiple victories for the second time this season, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies defeated the UT Martin Skyhawks, 3-2, in the Saluki Invitational hosted by Southern Illinois on Friday, September 15.

With this win, Oakland is back above .500 at 6-5, while the Skyhawks fall to 2-8.

UT Martin won the first set, 25-23, but Oakland fought back to win the next two, taking the second by the same score as the first and the third by a 12-point margin, 25-13.

Scoring three of the frame's final four points, the Skyhawks took the fourth set, 25-23, before the Golden Grizzlies used an early 6-0 run to cruise away with the fifth, 15-6.

Senior Patti Cesarini led Oakland with 16 kills and the Chicagoland native was joined in double figures by junior Ainsley Guse with 13 and sophomore Ella Martin with 11. Graduate student Sarah Turner tallied a team-high 26 assists and sophomore Rachel Rossman had a terrific match with 22 helpers and 18 digs.

Rossman's 18 digs were the Golden Grizzlies' second-most on the day, trailing only junior libero Emily Wichmann's 31, her first match with 30-plus this year and four back of matching her career-high.

GRIZZVISION WITH HEAD COACH KRISTA RICE

#GrizzVision with head coach Krista Rice following our Saluki Invitational-opening victory over UT Martin this afternoon 🐻

With this win, we move back above .500 on the season at 6-5 pic.twitter.com/5H2EyCr8ro

— Oakland Volleyball (@OaklandWVB) September 15, 2023

UP NEXT
Rounding out their two-day participation in the Saluki Invitational, Oakland will battle host Southern Illinois at 12 p.m. on Saturday, September 16 in a contest that will air live on ESPN ($).

The Salukis, who belong to the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), swept UT Martin on Thursday evening and will enter Saturday with a 7-3 record.

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 app is available for download in the Apple and Google Play Stores.