ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Golden Grizzlies women's volleyball team announced six newcomers to join the team ahead of the 2024 season.
 
The Golden Grizzlies, coming off its best season since 2017, add five freshmen and one graduate transfer to its roster. The six include: three outside hitters, one middle blocker, one libero/defensive specialist and one setter.
 
"We're really excited to have this year's recruiting class join our program as their strengths on the court and personalities will really compliment our returning student-athletes," said women's volleyball head coach Krista Rice. "Our returners have put in a tremendous amount of work in the gym and towards building our culture, and we cannot wait to get our incoming group intertwined this season."
 
Claire Ernst | 6'0" | Fr. | OH | Iowa City, Iowa | Iowa City High School
Ernst enters her freshman year off 1,000+ kills and 750+ digs at Iowa City High School as the outside hitter. The four-year varsity player finished her high school career as most valuable player three years in-a-row, two-time team captain, earned MVC All-Conference all four years with two first team nods, was named to the 5A East All-District Team twice and earned Academic All-State honors her final year.
 
"Claire's calm demeanor and seamless play made a great impression on us," said Rice. "She is a skilled six rotation pin who has had experience on both the left and opposite pin. We know her personality and consistent play will compliment our group well."

Lillian Frias | 5'11" | Fr. | MB | Curtice, Ohio | Genoa Area High School
The Curtice, Ohio, native joins Oakland after a successful high school career both on the court and on the track. Frias holds five school records[1]  at Genoa Area High School in both track and volleyball as she earned both all-district and all-league honors after her volleyball season. The middle blocker was named to the AVCA Phenom List after her club team, Legacy Volleyball Club, went 16-2 and placed third in the JVA Summerfest.
 
"Lillian is a dynamic middle blocker who has an incredibly fast arm swing, along with great lateral speed when blocking," said Rice. "Her joy and excitement for learning will help her excel as she transitions to the college game. She will add great depth to our solid core of returning middles."
 
Kiley Gallagher | 5'6" | Fr. | L/DS | Clarkston, Mich. | Clarkston High School
The libero/defensive specialist totaled over 1,000 digs over the course of her high school career with a 2.08 service reception her senior season, while also playing for Legacy Volleyball Club. Gallagher helped lead Clarkston High School to three District and Regional Championship titles, including back-to-back titles her junior and senior year. Gallagher contributed well to the team as she earned All-League and All-District honors her final three years, along with All-Region recognition her junior and senior year, as she earned Third Team All-State her senior season.
 
"Kiley's energy and communicative style, paired with her quick footspeed to range outside of her midline on the court, immediately stood out to us," said Rice. "We love the high quality of first ball contact she works for, and know she will mesh well with our nationally-ranked defensive group."
 
Tyler Linkhart | 6'0" | Gr. Transfer | Opp/OH | Yellow Springs, Ohio | Wittenberg University
Linkhart joins the Golden Grizzlies after having spent four seasons with Division III Wittenberg University. During her tenure with the Tigers, Linkhart surpassed 1,000 career kills in 95 matches played and hit at a .254 clip. The three-time North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) champion was named First Team All-American, earned First Team All-Conference honors three times, named NCAC Scholar Athlete of the Year and appeared in the NCAA DIII Tournament in three seasons. Prior to her collegiate career, Linkhart played six years for the Champaign County Sharks Volleyball Club.
 
"Tyler joins us after completing an incredibly successful career at Wittenberg," said Rice. "Her personality and team values aligned immediately and we are excited to add her for her final season of eligibility. We love the experience she brings as a six rotation pin and feel and combination of her terminability, maturity and versatility as an attacker will be a great addition to our pins this fall."
 
Olivia Rust | 5'9" | Fr. | OH | Rossford, Ohio | Rossford Junior-Senior High School
Rust joins the Oakland volleyball program after a successful high school career as she set the record for most kills in a season with 1,058 and most kills in a game with 28. The outside hitter earned All-League and All-District honors all four years of her career and was named First Team in her last three. Rust was named the team's most valuable player her final three seasons as she was a member of TVC Black 16's, 17's and 18's in her club playing days leading up to college.
 
"Olivia's athleticism and dynamic arm swing caught our eye early on in our recruiting process with her," said Rice. "We love her willingness to take big swings in clutch situations. She has developed versatility to attack on either pin and look forward to watching her develop within our system."
 
Delaney Stern | 5'9" | Fr. | S | Johnsburg, Ill. | Johnsburg High School
The four-time All-Conference setter enters her freshman season at Oakland after setting four separate school records at Johnsburg High School. An IVCA Academic All-State Selection her senior year, Stern set an all-time school record for career assists (1697) and also set records for aces in a season (64), assists in a season (652) and assists in a match (38). The Johnsburg, Ill., native won regionals with her school in 2023 and was named most valuable player in 2022 and 2023 while playing club volleyball with Mission Volleyball Club. Stern was named to the JVA Ultra Ankle Watchlist and was an AVCA Phenom in 2022-23.
 
"Delaney's personality and mindset for team cohesion drew us in," said Rice. "As we evaluated her more, we loved how she facilitated an offense, her ability to set a fast tempo and how she expressed her knowledge of the game. We are looking forward to her flourishing within our system."