ROCHESTER, Mich. – Head coach Krista Rice and the Golden Grizzlies Volleyball team kicks off their home conference slate by hosting Wright State and Northern Kentucky this weekend on the Blacktop at the OU Credit Union O'rena. Action kicks off Friday, Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. with Neal Ruhl on the call and Saturday, Oct. 3 at 4 p.m. with Matt Kibby calling on ESPN+.
Oakland opened Horizon League play with a pair of five-set battles at Green Bay, falling 3-2 in both matches. The Golden Grizzlies rallied from a 7-2 deficit to win the second set Friday, then edged the Phoenix 27-25 in the third before Green Bay took the final two sets, including a 23-21 fifth-set decision. Oakland again fought back Saturday after dropping the opening two sets, hitting .176 with 58 kills and 98 digs while taking the third and fourth sets, 25-19 and 25-18, before Green Bay closed the match with a 15-4 fifth set.
The weekend featured several career-best performances for the Golden Grizzlies. Lillian Frias posted a career-high 17 kills and 18.5 points with four blocks Friday, while Kalli Cook collected a career-best 28 digs. Molly Reck then erupted for a career-high 23 kills and 13 digs Saturday, while Cook topped her own mark with 31 digs. Delaney Stern also recorded double-doubles in both matches, finishing with 50 assists and 19 digs Friday and 42 assists and 12 digs Saturday.
FRIDAY, OCT. 2
OPPONENT: Wright State
TIME: 6 p.m. ET
STREAM: ESPN+
LIVE STATS | TICKETS
SCOUTING THE RAIDERS
The Raiders are 7-5 overall (2-0 HL), riding a three-match winning streak after sweeping new Horizon League member Northern Illinois twice and Drake to close the non-conference. Wright State is led offensively by Mya Ayro, who has 144 kills and averages 3.89 kills per set, while Reilly Zegunis has added 124 kills while hitting .315. Lauren Yacobucci has directed the offense with 444 assists, and Taygan Corstange leads the team with 168 digs. As a team, the Raiders are hitting .243 and averaging 14.15 kills, 13.17 assists and 15.12 digs per set.
The reigning Horizon League Tournament champions are 18-15 overall against Oakland, having swept the Black and Gold in the regular-season weekend series in 2025. The last time Wright State was on the Blacktop, Oakland pulled off an exciting reverse sweep of the Raiders to cap off the 2024 season in November.
SATURDAY, OCT. 3
OPPONENT: Northern Kentucky
TIME: 4 p.m. ET
STREAM: ESPN+
LIVE STATS | TICKETS
SCOUTING THE NORSE
Northern Kentucky enters the weekend 7-6 overall and a perfect 2-0 in Horizon League play, having won six of its last seven matches. The Norse played a competitive non-conference schedule including a Power 4 win over Notre Dame in five sets before opening league play with wins over Milwaukee, including a three-set sweep. NKU is led offensively by Ivey Stocks, who has 144 kills while hitting .361, while Sydney Bray has added 118 kills. Abby Pickard has directed the offense with 531 assists, and Daisy Cluxton anchors the back row with 233 digs. As a team, the Norse are hitting .189 and averaging 13.0 kills, 15.6 digs and 2.4 blocks per set.
The Golden Grizzlies and Norse are even at 13-13 in the all-time series. NKU have won the last four out of five match-ups with the Black and Gold, including a 3-1 and sweep over Oakland on the Blacktop last season.
How to Follow Oakland Volleyball: For complete information on Oakland Volleyball, follow the team on X at @OaklandWVB and head coach Krista Rice at @KKg1007. The team is also on Instagram.
