VALPARAISO, Ind. - Completing their trip to the Hoosier State to participate in the two-day Popcorn Classic, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies split a pair of matches on Saturday, September 2, defeating the Western Illinois Leathernecks, 3-1, in the first and dropping the second to the host Valparaiso Beacons, 3-0.
Paired with their Friday victory over the Eastern Michigan Eagles, Oakland went 2-1 in the Popcorn Classic, good for second place in the four-team field behind only Valparaiso, and the Golden Grizzlies are now .500 on the young season at 3-3.
OAKLAND 3, WESTERN ILLINOIS 1
Beginning Saturday with the victory, the Golden Grizzlies actually dropped the first set to the Leathernecks, 25-23, before reeling off three consecutive sets to close the match, 25-21, 29-27 and 25-15.
The third set, which was won by a kill from senior Patti Cesarini off the assist from sophomore Rachel Rossman, saw Oakland fight their way back from an early 8-2 deficit.
Cesarini led the Golden Grizzlies with 20 kills in this contest, while redshirt junior Libby Gentile tallied 17 and freshman Gentry Brown was also in double figures with 11. Graduate student Sarah Turner and Rossman combined to record 60 assists and junior Emily Wichmann finished with 27 digs, her third match with at least 25 already here in 2023.
GRIZZVISION WITH HEAD COACH KRISTA RICE
VALPARAISO 3, OAKLAND 0
One of the top teams in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), the Beacons claimed the first set, 25-15, and then each of the final two by a score of 25-22.
Cesarini was the lone Oakland player in double-digits in kills with 11 and sophomore Anika Prisby paced the Golden Grizzlies with a couple of blocks. Rossman and Turner both registered 14 assists and senior Kennedy Dolmage and Wichmann cumulatively totaled 25 digs.
GRIZZVISION WITH HEAD COACH KRISTA RICE
CESARINI AND DOLMAGE NAMED TO POPCORN CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
By virtue of their second-place finish, Oakland had two players named to the Popcorn Classic All-Tournament Team, Cesarini and Dolmage.
Hailing from La Grange Park in Illinois, Cesarini finished the weekend with 49 kills, 19 digs, four aces and a block, while Dolmage, who is from Rochester and played for the Lutheran North Mustangs in high school, had 38 digs, eight aces and an assist in the tournament.
UP NEXT
In what will be their first home matches of the season, Oakland will host the four-team Golden Grizzlies Invitational at the OU Credit Union O'rena on Friday and Saturday, September 8 and 9.
Joining Oakland in the field for the Golden Grizzlies Invitational will be the Chicago State Cougars, Eastern Michigan and the Missouri-Kansas City Roos.
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.
