CARBONDALE, Ill. - Wrapping up their two-day participation in the Saluki Invitational, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies were defeated by host Southern Illinois, 3-1, on Saturday, September 16 at the Davies Gym.
Seeing their two-match win streak come to an end, Oakland wraps up the non-conference portion of their 2023 schedule at .500 at 6-6, while the Salukis, who belong to the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), improve to 8-3.
Punctuated by a kill by junior and former Stoney Creek Cougar Ainsley Guse, the Golden Grizzlies won Saturday's first set, 25-22, before Southern Illinois responded by taking the final three, 25-19, 25-21 and 25-20.
Oakland senior outside hitter Patti Cesarini racked up a game-high 15 kills and junior libero Emily Wichmann led all players with 21 digs.
Tying the action at four in the first set, Cesarini made some individual history on Saturday, as her first kill of the afternoon was No. 1,000 in her decorated career, making her just the 10th Golden Grizzly in program history to reach this mark.
Graduate student setter Sarah Turner paced the Golden Grizzlies with 22 assists and sophomore Rachel Rossman pitched in 16.
GRIZZVISION WITH HEAD COACH KRISTA RICE
UP NEXT
Beginning Horizon League play, Oakland will head to the Gates Sports Center to battle the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons (5-7) on Tuesday, September 19 at 6 p.m.
Voted on by the conference's head coaches, the Golden Grizzlies were picked to finish sixth in the 10-team Horizon League Preseason Poll, while Purdue Fort Wayne was right behind them in seventh.
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.
