ROCHESTER, Mich. – Head coach Krista Rice and the Oakland Golden Grizzlies Volleyball team are headed into Big Ten territory with a Tuesday night match up with the undefeated Michigan State Spartans inside the Breslin Center in East Lansing. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET on BTN+.

Oakland went 2-1 at home on the Blacktop hosting the Golden Grizzly Invitational, opening the weekend with a 3-1 loss to UAB before bouncing back with a 3-0 sweep of Montana on Friday. Against UAB, the Golden Grizzlies totaled 50 kills and 55 digs, with Liv Hosford and Lillian Frias each recording 10 kills. Oakland carried that momentum into the nightcap, hitting .238 as a team and holding Montana to a season-low .097 hitting percentage behind 48 kills, 56 digs and nine blocks. Oakland closed the tournament Saturday with another sweep, sweeping Eastern Michigan 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-20). The Golden Grizzlies hit .347 in the match, improving their attack percentage in each set while recording 46 kills and 11 errors. The strong finish moved Oakland to 4-5 on the season.

Middle blockers Lillian Frias and Ellen Zapp were tabbed to the Golden Grizzlies Invitational All-Tournament Team. Frias, started in all three matches, and led Oakland with 31 kills and a .463 hitting percentage – including a .563 hitting mark against Montana and a career-high 11 kills against Eastern Michigan. Zapp, was next down the list with 21 kills and a .356 hitting chart. On defense, she led with 10 total blocks, averaging 1.25/set.


TUESDAY, SEPT. 15
OPPONENT: Michigan State
TIME: 6 p.m. ET
STREAM: BTN+
LIVE STATS | TICKETS


SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
Michigan State enters its Sept. 15 match up with Oakland at 8-0, opening the season with a five-set win over RV Miami before sweeping LIU, LSU, South Carolina, Central Michigan, Western Michigan, Cincinnati, and Morehead State. The Spartans are hitting .355 as a team while holding opponents to .118, with Alanna Bankston leading the team with 81 kills and Karolina Staniszewska averaging 3.48 kills per set. Malayah Long has 238 assists (9.92/set), while Zora Hardison leads MSU with 30 blocks and Lia Schneider has a team-high 73 digs.

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.