ROCHESTER, Mich. — Oakland (10-12, 5-5 Horizon) defeated Cleveland St. (3-18, 0-10 Horizon), 3-,1 on Saturday afternoon, with set scores of 25-23, 23-25, 25-23 and 25-20. Oakland finished with 63 kills and a .272 hitting percentage, while CSU had 48 kills and hit .224. In the fourth set, the Golden Grizzlies moved from a 7-8 deficit to a 13-8 lead before taking the set 25-20.
Outside hitter
Liv Hosford led Oakland with 20.0 points, recording 18 kills, 12 digs, and two service aces. Opposite hitter
Olivia Rust added 17 kills while hitting .343 for 17.5 points. Setter
Delaney Stern finished with 56 assists and 16 digs. Libero
Kalli Cook collected a team-high 17 digs and added four assists.
Oakland's closing response secured a 25-23 first-set win, as outside hitter
Molly Reck and middle blocker
Lillian Frias delivered the final two kills after CSU tied the score at 23-23. The Black and Gold opened the set with consecutive points, including middle blocker
Ellen Zapp's block, and kept answering CSU swings with kills set by Stern for Reck, Rust, and Frias. Hosford helped the Golden Grizzlies create mid-set separation with a service ace and a kill for a 12-10 lead, then added another kill and ace later as OU moved ahead 21-19. CSU continued to pull even late, but Reck's kill from Stern brought Oakland to set point before Frias finished the set.
Oakland led as late as 21-20 in the second set, but CSU took the set 25-23. The Golden Grizzlies erased a 6-5 deficit by winning five of the next six points to start set two, with Hosford tying the set and moving Oakland ahead on consecutive Stern assists before Zapp added back-to-back kills. After CSU pulled even at 12-12, Rust had two kills in a three-point OU response that made it 15-12, and Hosford later put down consecutive kills from Stern for a 19-16 lead. CSU rallied to 20-19, Oakland tied it on Zapp's block and went back in front on an attack error, but Rust's late kill only pulled the Black and Gold within 24-23 before CSU finished the set.
Oakland flipped the third set after falling behind 18-17, winning five of the next six points as Hosford delivered four kills to move the Golden Grizzlies ahead 22-19. The team built a 9-5 lead with repeated finishes from Rust and Hosford, along with service aces from Zapp and Reck. CSU answered with service points and blocking to take a 12-10 lead, but the Golden Grizzlies worked back with kills from Frias, Rust, Reck, and Hosford as the set stayed tight into the late points. After CSU tied it at 23-23, Zapp put Oakland at set point with a kill from Stern, and Reck and Frias were credited on the block that ended the 25-23 set win.
Oakland used the fourth set's biggest verified stretch to move in front, with Hosford serving a 5-0 and answering an 8-7 deficit with six straight points and carrying that advantage to a 25-20 finish. Hosford's start included kills from Zapp, Reck, and Rust, plus a block by Zapp and Rust, before CSU worked back to take an 8-7 lead. Reck tied the set with a kill, then served five straight points for the Black and Gold, adding two aces while Frias and Hosford finished swings to put the team ahead 13-8. Oakland kept CSU from stringing together a late comeback, getting kills from Rust, Reck, and Hosford before Rust's final kill brought OU to set point at 24-18. CSU scored the next two points, but a service error ended the set with the Golden Grizzlies winning 25-20.
The Golden Grizzlies return to the Blacktop to host a two-match series with Milwaukee on Oct. 30-31. Streaming will be available on ESPN+, with first serve on Friday set for 6 p.m. ET.
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.
