Grizzlies Show Drastic
Improvement In Beam's First Year
On the heels of a successful 2007 season
where the Oakland University volleyball team improved from just one win
in 2006 to eight wins in 2007, Junior
Lauren Duquette (Clinton Twp.,
Mich.) was named Most Valuable Player, sophomore
Hallie Beattie (Bowling Green, Ohio) and freshman
Emily Hoffiz (West Bloomfield,
Mich.) tied for the Most Improved Player award, and senior
Monica Frechen (Fowler, Mich.) was awarded the Golden Grizzly
award at the team’s annual banquet held Friday, January 11.
The banquet capped a
2007 campaign where the Grizzlies made great strides in coach
Rob Beam’s first year, improving from a 1-25 record in 2006 to
8-21 in 2007. Over the course of the year, the Golden Grizzlies set new
single-season standards for individual digs, as Duquette picked up
619 on the season to break the record of 475 she previously set in 2005;
junior
Leah Dupuie (Leonard, Mich.) tied the single-season mark of 1.25
blocks per game, and the Grizzlies set new team standards in kills per
game (12.57), attempts per game (42.11), assists per game (11.40), total
digs (1984), digs per game (19.08), and block assists (433). For their
record-breaking performances, both Duquette and Dupuie were presented
with commemorative game balls at the banquet.
Both Duquette and
freshman
Katy Wilson (Midlothian, Texas) were honored by the Summit
League in post-season awards, as Duquette earned a second team
all-Summit League honor, and Wilson was named to the All-Freshman team.
Both were recognized at the annual banquet for their awards this season.
It was a season that
started with three tough tests right off the bat, as the Golden
Grizzlies headed to the Cincinnati tournament to face off with Maryland,
Cincinnati, and Southern Mississippi. After a tough opening game in the
first match against Maryland where the Grizzlies fell 30-14, Oakland
rallied to tie the match with a 30-23 win in game two before Maryland
picked up a 30-21 victory in game three and a 30-9 win in game four to
clinch the match victory. OU dropped a 3-0 decision to Cincinnati in the
second match of the tournament before picking up a 3-0 win over Southern
Miss in the final game of the tournament.
The Grizzlies struggled
over the next four matches, falling to Bowling Green, Texas-Arlington,
Marquette, and Miami (Fla.) before OU reeled off three straight wins,
topping LaSalle 3-0, St. Francis 3-0, and Toledo 3-0. The three-match
winning streak was OU’s longest since Oakland competed in Division II.
After a 3-0 loss to No.
10 Michigan, Oakland picked up its fourth win in five matches, topping
Centenary 3-2 in both teams’ Summit League opener, and improving Oakland
to 5-7 on the season. Both Amy Golem
(Dearborn, Mich.) and Adrienne Leone
(Clinton Twp., Mich.) posted double-digit kill totals for the Grizzlies,
with Golem picking up 20 and Leone picking up 13.
The Golden Grizzlies’
tough schedule caught up with them over the next four matches, as
Oakland fell 3-0 to Oral Roberts, 3-1 to South Dakota State, 3-1 to IPFW,
and 3-0 to Eastern Michigan. Fueled by a 19-kill effort from Leone and
a 16-kill performance by Golem, OU returned to the win column with a 3-1
victory at home over IUPUI.
The rugged Summit
League and non-conference schedule caught up to Oakland once again, as
the Grizzlies fell to North Dakota State, Western Illinois, UMKC, and
Central Michigan before the Grizzlies once again moved into the win
column with a 3-1 victory over Centenary.
The Grizzlies struggled
down the stretch in Summit League play, managing just one more win, a
3-2 win over UMKC at the O’Rena before the season closed.
Offensively, Oakland
was led by the one-two punch of Golem and Leone. The two averaged over
two kills per game, while the trio of Wilson, sophomore
Alex Darin (Yale, Mich.), and
Beattie dished out the majority of the team’s assists, with Wilson
averaging 6.56, Darin averaging 4.57, and Beattie averaging 2.49 assists
per game.
Duquette anchored the
OU defense, while Dupuie proved to be a force up front, racking up 130
total blocks and averaging 1.25 blocks per game.
While the win-loss total
was still less than what the Golden Grizzlies would have liked after a
promising start, the Grizzlies undoubtedly closed the 2007 season as a
much improved team and one with loftier expectations for its 2008
campaign.
Oakland
University 2008. All rights reserved.
