Box Score VALPARAISO, Ind. — The Oakland Golden Grizzlies (2-4, 0-0 HL) lost to Cincinnati (5-1, 0-0 Big12), 3-0, on Sunday, falling 13-25, 18-25, 19-25 at the Athletics-Recreation Center in Valparaiso. Oakland finished with 33 kills and a .143 hitting percentage, while the Bearcats topped with 40 kills and hit .382. The Golden Grizzlies made their closest push in the third set, cutting an 11-4 deficit to 19-17 before the Bearcats completed the sweep.

Opposite hitter Ella Schomer finished with eight kills on 16 attacks while hitting .438, as outside hitter Molly Reck matched the team lead with eight kills and added eight digs. Setter Delaney Stern recorded team highs of 15 assists and two service aces while adding five digs, as libero Kalli Cook collected eight digs and six assists.

Oakland was still within 17-12 in the first set before the Bearcats scored seven straight points to reach set point at 24-12, and the home side went on to take the set 25-13. Earlier, middle blocker Lillian Frias put Oakland on the board with a kill from Stern, and Schomer added early kills as Oakland responded after the Bearcats built leads of 3-1 and 7-2. Reck and outside hitter Liv Hosford contributed kills through the middle of the set, and Oakland won three straight points from a 14-6 deficit on kills by Frias and Schomer around a Bearcats attack error. After the Bearcats' late run, Hosford supplied Oakland's final point with a kill from setter Morgin Parsley before the Bearcats closed the set on a kill.

The Black and Gold made a late push after the Bearcats moved ahead 21-14, getting kills from outside hitter Ella Martin and Schomer, a Stern service ace and a Bearcats attack error to cut the set to 21-18. Earlier, Frias and Reck helped Oakland trade points through a 3-3 tie, with Reck recording multiple kills in the opening stretch. The Bearcats created separation with service pressure, including aces by Sydney Nolan and Viktoria Ninova, before Oakland answered with a Hosford kill, a Reck kill and a Frias ace to reach 13-9. Oakland later added points from middle blocker Kamsi Iweajunwa, in her collegiate debut, outside hitter Olivia Rust and a Frias-Rust block, but the Bearcats scored the final four points to take the set 25-18.

OU made its biggest push late in the third set, using Martin's serve to turn a 19-14 deficit into a 19-18 margin before the Bearcats answered and closed out a 25-19 set. Earlier, Oakland opened with a Schomer kill from Stern and a bad set by the Bearcats for a 2-0 lead, but the Bearcats responded with stretches that moved the set to 7-3 and later 11-4. Oakland kept working back with kills from Frias, Rust, Reck and Schomer, plus a Stern ace that made it 13-10. The late run included kills by Reck and Rust, a Martin ace and another Reck kill, but after a Bearcats service error left Oakland down 20-19, the Bearcats took the final five points to finish the set.

The Golden Grizzlies will be back in Rochester to host the annual Golden Grizzly Invitational featuring UAB, Montana, and Eastern Michigan on Friday, Sept. 11, through Saturday, Sept. 12, inside the OU Credit Union O'rena. First serve against UAB on Friday is slated for 10 a.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.