Volleyball Scoreboard (Oct. 18)
Oakland 3, Milwaukee 1
Wright State 3, Green Bay 2
Oakland 3, Milwaukee 1
Sammy Condon had an impressive performance against Milwaukee Saturday afternoon with team-highs of 14 kills and eight blocks as the Golden Grizzlies defeated league-leading Milwaukee at the Klotsche Center, 23-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-18. The win ended a two-match slide for Oakland and moved the squad to 13-9, 5-2 while Milwaukee dropped to 11-10, 5-2.
"Today was a great day for our team," head coach Rob Beam said. "Offensively, we executed extremely well and were able to score points with our blocking. I am proud of our team in how they rebounded and showed true toughness in putting together a great performance."
Oakland posted team season-high efforts in attack percentage (.376), blocks (15.5) and assists (59) to come back after dropping the opening set to the Panthers. Seven Oakland players tallied a block in the victory; following Condon's eight, Amanda Baker added six, with Ciara Schultz (0-5) and Jessica Dood (1-4) adding five apiece.
Oakland hit an impressive .500 in the second set, connecting on 21 kills to set the tone for the remainder of the match. The fourth set highlighted Oakland's blocking, as the team combined for 7.5 blocks in the final set.
Dood also tallied 14 kills for the Golden Grizzlies; Melissa Deatsch (11) and Cassie Pelloni (10) also were in double figures in kills.
Schultz added a career-high 53 assists in the win. Condon's eight blocks also set a personal best.
The victory at Milwaukee wraps up the first circuit of Horizon League play for the league's eight squads. Joining Oakland and Milwaukee atop the league ladder is Youngstown State, who also went 5-2 through the first seven matches of the league season.
Wright State 3, Green Bay 2
Down two sets to none, the Wright State volleyball team rallied for a five-set win at Green Bay Saturday, earning its first league win of the season. The Raiders won the match 20-25, 21-25, 25-23, 25-21, 15-11.
WSU led 10-7 in the first set following a Haley Garr kill, only to see the Phoenix score 11 of the next 14 points to go in front for good.
The match featured 39 ties and 15 lead changes overall, with 12 of those ties and seven of the lead changes coming in the second set before Green Bay went up to stay at 23-18 with five straight points.
UWGB then looked to be in position to sweep the match by tying the third set at 23 on a Taylor Kasal kill and a Jillian Bauer service ace, but Wright State claimed the set and kept their hopes alive on a kill and ace by Katie Klusman.
The Raiders broke a 12-12 tie in the fourth set with three consecutive points and later went up 22-16 on back-to-back aces from Miranda Puthoff. Green Bay later closed to within two at 23-21 before a Garr kill and a Rachel Kremer ace forced the decisive fifth set.
A Klusman kill and another Kremer ace helped the Raiders go up 6-3 in the final set and consecutive Megan Hopkins kill put WSU ahead 10-6. The Phoenix answered with three straight to cut the deficit ton one, but back came Wright State with a Hopkins kills and a block from Marisa Aiello and Ashley Langjahr.
WSU then closed out the match by scoring three of the final four points, taking advantage of two Green Bay attack errors and getting a Klusman kill on match point.
The Phoenix finished with a 67-60 kill advantage, but the Raiders led .188-.184 in hitting percentage and led 8-3 in aces, six of those coming in the final two sets.
Four WSU players reached double figures in kills, led by Garr with 17, Klusman with 13, Hopkins 11 and Aiello 10. Maddie Lohmeier posted a double-double with 54 assists and 10 digs while three others were in double figures in digs as Jessie Thornton had 23 and Puthoff and Katie Glassmeyer 10 each.
