DAYTON, Ohio - Completing a three-match road swing, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies will play a pair of matches this weekend, squaring off with the Wright State Raiders at 6 p.m. on Friday, September 29 at the Nutter Center and the Northern Kentucky Norse the next day, Saturday, September 30, at 4 p.m. at Regents Hall.
Riding a two-match win streak, Oakland is 9-7 on the year and 3-1 in Horizon League play, currently good for fourth in the 10-team conference.
Winners of two of the last three Horizon League championships, Wright State is 7-7 and 3-0 in the conference, while the Norse, who have advanced to the championship match of the league tournament each of the last two seasons, are also 7-7 and 2-1 in conference play.
Receiving nine of the 10 first-place votes from the conference's head coaches, the Raiders were picked to repeat in the 2023 Under Armour Preseason Poll, with Northern Kentucky slotting in right behind them in second.
Sweeping the Robert Morris Colonials at the OU Credit Union O'rena on September 23 and beginning this road trip with a five-set victory over the IUPUI Jaguars three days later, the Golden Grizzlies lead the Horizon League in digs with 1,026 and rank second in the conference in hitting percentage at .209.
Junior libero Emily Wichmann paces the Horizon League in digs-per-set at 5.29 and senior Patti Cesarini, sophomore Rachel Rossman and graduate student Sarah Turner are also all in the conference's top-25.
Oakland's depth has been even more impressive when it comes to hitting percentage, as five Golden Grizzlies are in the Horizon League's top-25, led by junior Ainsley Guse in fourth and followed by sophomore Anika Prisby in 12th, redshirt junior Libby Gentile in 18th, Cesarini in 22nd and freshman Gentry Brown in 23rd.
WRIGHT STATE RUNDOWN
Like Oakland's Krista Rice, the Raiders' head coach, Travers Green, is in his second season at the helm and Wright State has opened Horizon League play with wins over Robert Morris, Northern Kentucky and the Youngstown State Penguins.
Returning three All-Conference players from 2022, including two First Team selections, the Raiders have been led offensively by Sagamore Hills, Ohio graduate student Megan Alders and Louisville, Kentucky's Callie Martin, a fellow graduate student and one of those returning All-Horizon League honorees.
Junior Jenna Wessling, who also hails from Louisville, has registered 260 digs and Cincinnati, Ohio graduate student Katie Meyer leads the way with 424 assists.
Both meetings between these two programs in 2022 went four sets and the Golden Grizzlies last defeated Wright State on October 3, 2018.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY RUNDOWN
Led by 14th-year head coach Liz Hart, the Norse bring back two All-Horizon League players from last season's runner-up squad in Louisville graduate student defensive specialist Anna Burke and Grosse Pointe middle blocker/opposite Abby Kanakry, a fellow graduate student.
With their lone conference loss coming to the Raiders in Dayton on September 23, Northern Kentucky has picked up victories over Youngstown State and Robert Morris.
ESPN+ ($) AND LIVE STATS LINKS
Both Friday and Saturday's matches will air live on ESPN+ ($) and the links to access those streams, as well as the Live Stats, are available below:
@ Wright State - ESPN+ ($) | Live Stats
@ Northern Kentucky - ESPN+ ($) | Live Stats
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.
