ROCHESTER, Mich. – In their first game against the Wright State Raiders of the season, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies fought hard but fell to the Raiders in three sets tonight inside the OU Credit Union O'rena.
SET ONE: OAKLAND 13, WRIGHT STATE 25
At the start of the first set, the Golden Grizzlies and the Raiders started to trade points, with both team's first points coming off back-to-back attack errors. However, Wright State would be the ones to pull away first, building a small five-point lead early over Oakland.
As the set progressed, the Golden Grizzlies kept it competitive with highlight-reel kills from Libby Smith and Christina Bohm. Despite their efforts, the Raiders continued to capitalize on Oakland. By the media timeout, Wright State extended its lead to 15-7.
With the Raiders in the driver's seat, the Golden Grizzlies faced an uphill battle as the first set entered its final stages. Olivia Rust and Ainsley Guse produced some offense late, both recording kills, but the Wright State lead was too much to overcome, making the Raiders the winners of the first set.
SET TWO: OAKLAND 24, WRIGHT STATE 26
In the second set of the evening, a Tyler Linkahrt kill got the Golden Grizzlies on the scoreboard first. Following Linkhart's, kill, Wright State went on a 6-1 run, quickly establishing a lead over Oakland in the set's opening moments.
Despite the Raider's hot start to the set, the Golden Grizzlies quickly chipped away at their lead, and another kill from Linkahrt tied the match. The Raiders answered with a point, but Gentry Brown responded with a kill to tie the set, 13-13, making for a competitive set.
Although the Golden Grizzlies came back with momentum, Wright State did not get rattled. After Brown tied the set, the Raiders slowly built a lead again. However, once again, Oakland chipped away at the Raiders lead, and an attack error tied the match up at 24-24.
With the Golden Grizzlies' late-game heroics bringing them back into the set, the Raiders swiftly responded with a kill from Sam Ott. On the next possession, the Raiders forced an Oakland attacking error, resulting in a second-set victory for Wright State.
SET THREE: OAKLAND 15, WRIGHT STATE 25
The match's third set saw the Raiders take the early lead over the Golden Grizzlies, as they refused to let the Golden Grizzlies build momentum. Still, Oakland continued to fight, and the Golden Grizzlies' first points came from an impressive kill from Smith, assisted by Emily Wichmann.
Halfway through set three, the Raiders built upon their lead. A Taylor Bransfield kill jumpstarted a 6-1 Wright State run as the Golden Grizzlies went into the media timeout down, 15-6.
Despite Oakland's best effort, the Golden Grizzlies and the Raiders traded points for the rest of the set, leading to Wright State's third and final set win.
At the end of the match, Linkhart, Brown and Smith led the Golden Grizzlies with six kills, while Delaney Stern distributed 11 assists throughout the match. From the front of the net, Rust and Guse tallied 1.5 blocks, while Rachel Rossman and Brown notched a team-high nine digs.
Up next, the Golden Grizzlies will battle the Raiders again tomorrow at the OU Credit Union O'Rena. The match marks Oakland's last regular-season match of the season. The first serve is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. ET, and the game will be live-streamed on ESPN+.
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