The Wright State volleyball team fell 3-0 at Oakland (15-25, 20-25, 21-25) Friday night.

First Set Highlights

Wright State had an early lead in the game at 2-1, but a 7-0 run by the Golden Grizzlies allowed Oakland to take the lead at 8-2.  Wright State and Oakland traded points back-and-forth pushing the score to 10-4 before the Raiders went on a 3-0 run closing in on the Golden Grizzlies at 10-7.  Oakland responded right away by going on their own 3-0 run, and again gaining a six point lead.  Wright State kept battling in the middle of the set but were only able to pull within five points of Oakland at 20-15 before the Golden Grizzlies went on a 5-0 run to win the set.  Senior middle hitter Megan Hopkins led the Raiders with three kills of Wright State's eight kills. 

Second Set Highlights

Oakland took the early lead at 4-1 after a couple of 2-0 runs.  Wright State responded immediately with their own 2-0 run keeping the score close at 4-3.  WSU called their first timeout at 7-3 to try to, shift the momentum in their favor after Oakland went on a 3-0 run.  Coming out of the timeout both teams traded points and pushed the score to 9-6 before Oakland went on a 6-0 run, extending their lead to 15-6.  Wright State kept calm and responded soon after with a 5-0 run of their own closing in on the Golden Grizzlies at 16-12.  Two of the points in the 5-0 run came senior outside hitter Katie Klusman who posted a kill and then rotated into the serving position where she recorded a service ace.  The Raiders kept pushing and forced Oakland to take a timeout at 17-15 after going on a 3-0 run.  The Golden Grizzlies came out of the timeout with the momentum in their favor however, and went on a 5-0 run extending their lead to 22-15.  The Raiders kept fighting at the end of the set with freshman Abby Barcus posting two kills and Klusman posting a kill of her own, but were unable to take the lead before Oakland closed the set at 25-20.  Barcus led the Raiders with five kills in the set.

Third Set Highlights 

Oakland took another early lead in the third set at 2-0 before freshman right side hitter Celia Powers sided out for the Raiders with a kill.  Both teams traded points before Oakland went on a 3-0 run before ending their run with a service error.  Oakland went on a 4-2 run pushing the score to 10-5 before Wright State's Teddie Sauer put down a kill bringing the Raiders within four points of the Golden Grizzlies.  The first timeout of the set was taken at 13-7 by Wright State.  The Raiders came out of the timeout ready to rally and Powers immediately posted a kill for Wright State.  Both teams battled back-and-forth throughout the middle of the set before Oakland was forced to take their first timeout at 17-14 after two kills from the Raiders allowed them to pull within three points.  Oakland took their second timeout at 21-18 to try and slow down the Raider's comeback after a kill from Hopkins and a service ace from Klusman.  Coming out of the timeout the teams traded points back-and-forth, and the Raiders were unable to secure a run that would allow them to close in on the Golden Grizzlies.  Oakland won the third and final set 25-21.  Barcus led the Raiders with four kills in the set and led her team overall in the match with 11 kills.  

What Coach Clements is Saying

"We certainly did not compete to the level we needed.  Oakland played extremely well, and their offense was running on all cylinders.  We got down early every set, and that is certainly something we are working on to correct."

Next Up

The Raiders (6-10, 0-3) will play again tomorrow on the road at 4 p.m. at Cleveland State.