ROCHESTER, Mich. – The 2-2 Oakland Golden Grizzlies are headed to Valparaiso for the Popcorn Classic held at the Athletics-Recreation Center Saturday, Sept. 5 and Sunday, Sept. 6. OU will face the Valparaiso Beacons on Saturday night, before an afternoon match-up with Cincinnati on Sunday.
On Wednesday, Oakland took care of in-state foe, Central Michigan, 3-1, inside McGuirk Arena. The win marked the first program win in Mount Pleasant in Oakland's 50-year history. The Golden Grizzlies took the first set in a thrilling 29-27 battle before adding wins in the second and fourth sets, 25-20 and 25-17, while CMU claimed the third. Oakland totaled 60 kills and hit .211 as a team, as Molly Reck led the Black and Gold with 18 kills.
The Golden Grizzlies went 1-2 through the first weekend of the season at Toledo. Oakland with a dominant 3-0 sweep of Binghamton before dropping a pair of matches at the Rocket Invitational on Saturday. The Golden Grizzlies hit .301 against Binghamton, led by Molly Reck's career-high 19 kills, while Liv Hosford added 14 kills and 11 digs in her collegiate debut. Oakland then battled Bradley to a five-set thriller, falling 15-12 in the decisive frame, before dropping a straight-set decision to Toledo to finish the weekend 1-2.
Against Bradley, freshman Liv Hosford turned in a stand-out performance, recording a team-high 21 kills while hitting .327 and adding 10 digs for her second collegiate match. Her 21 kills mark the first freshman to hit 20+ kills in a match since 2013.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 5
OPPONENT: Valparaiso
TIME: 7 p.m. ET
LIVE STATS | TICKETS
STREAM: ESPN+
SCOUTING THE BEACONS
Valparaiso opened the season in Chattanooga, going 3-0 up against UAB, Chattanooga, and Tennessee State. Junior Ava Helming was named to the Preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference Team after a standout sophomore season in which she earned First Team All-MVC honors. Helming led the Beacons with 364 kills while hitting .323, ranking eighth in the MVC in kills and 12th in hitting percentage. Valparaiso was picked to finish third in the 2026 MVC Preseason Poll, coming off a 21-9 campaign and a second-place tie in the MVC in 2025.
The Beacons and Golden Grizzlies have met 28 times, as former Summit League members. Valpo leads the all-time series at 21-7, and have won the last three meetings, spanning from 2015-23.
SUNDAY, SEPT. 6
OPPONENT: Cincinnati
TIME: 1 p.m. ET
LIVE STATS
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
Cincinnati is 2-1 in 2026 thus far, taking a tournament sweep against Illinois (3-2) and Syracuse (3-0), before falling in a midweek match with Santa Clara at home. Under former longtime Bowling Green head coach Danijela Tomić, now at UC, senior outside hitter Sydney Nolan was named to the Preseason First Team All-Big 12 after a breakout 2025 season in which she earned First Team All-Big 12 and AVCA All-Region honors. Nolan led the Bearcats with 4.68 kills per set and a .305 hitting percentage, totaling 468 kills across 26 matches. She recorded 11 matches with at least 20 kills and ranked among the nation's leaders in kills, attacks and points per set.
Cincinnati and Oakland have only ever played one time in their history, a 3-0 decision in favor of the Bearcats in a road test back on Aug. 25, 2007.
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.
