Oakland sweeps South Dakota State in straight sets
ROCHESTER, Mich. – Jenna Lange hit .500 and had 11 kills to lead the Oakland volleyball team to a straight-sets victory over South Dakota State in Summit League action on Saturday at the Athletics Center O’rena. The Golden Grizzlies won the match with scores of 25-18, 25-18 and 25-11.
:Playing well tonight was important as we try to build forward in the Summit League season,: said Oakland head coach Rob Beam. “I think they had some advantages, but our ball control and defense really offset that today.”
Lang and Meghan Bray each finished the match with 11 kills, while Taylor Humm added 10 kills for Oakland (7-6, 2-2), which hit .292 for the match. Defensively, OU held South Dakota State to a .075 hitting percentage. The Golden Grizzlies had 57 digs, led by Alli Kirk, who posted 18.
After falling behind 10-4 in the first set, Oakland rallied for seven consecutive points to take an 11-10 lead. Bray won six straight service points to put OU in the lead. Oakland eventually won the match on a kill by Ashley Nevelle. As a setter, Nevelle finished the match with 20 assists, while fellow setter Alissa Valentine finished with 22.
The Golden Grizzlies took an early lead in the second set and had to fight off an SDSU (11-6, 3-2) rally. Lange tied the match at 13-13 and Bray took over at the service line and served five straight points. Bray hit three of her four aces during that run, which put OU ahead for good.
Oakland stepped up to hit .400 in the final set and played solid defense to hold SDSU to a .000 hitting percentage in the set. Bray had six kills and Brittany Holbroo
k had five kills in the set. The Golden Grizzlies finished the match on a 17-6 run, with Lange getting a solo block to end the match.
Kelli Fiegen and Kaitlin Klingemann each had six kills to lead SDSU. Lexi Fowler finished with a team-high 19 assists in the match and Shay Birath had 16 digs to lead the Jackrabbits.
The Golden Grizzlies will continue Summit League play in the upcoming week. First the team travels to Southern Utah for a match on Thursday at 7 p.m. MT. OU will also plays at Oral Roberts on Saturday.
Category: Campus Clips, Colleges / Other, Oakland University
