Oakland University volleyball (18-9, 10-3) took down the Youngstown State Penguins (7-20, 1-12) in three sets on Friday, Nov. 4.

“Last weekend, we had a really solid weekend, played really well, so going in I was really hopeful,” said defensive specialist Darrin Rice. “I knew we were going to do it in three and get a good win.”

Middle hitter Sammy Condon led the game with 15 kills and a hitting percentage of .565. Right-side hitter Jessica Dood became the seventh person in OU history to get 1,000 career kills. Dood joins six-rotation outside hitter Melissa Deatsch, who achieved 1,000 career kills earlier in the season, making this the second time in Golden Grizzly history that two players achieved 1,000 career kills in the same season.

“I definitely couldn’t do it without my team,” Dood said. “The good passes and the great sets definitely leads to an outstanding hit. I’m just really happy right now.”

Oakland head coach Rob Beam commented on Dood’s achievement.

“I’m really proud of [Dood],” Beam said. “She’s been a huge component in our team. Every year, she’s added skill refinement or another layer to her game. This is definitely her best season for us, which is what you expect out of seniors.”

Setter Jordan Lentz was pivotal to the Golden Grizzlies offense, with 34 of the team’s 40 assists, six kills and five digs.

“I know that if I can just put up a good set, [my teammates] will take care of it,” Lentz said. “I try not to put too much pressure on my shoulders because we all put in a great effort, and it’s not too bad.”

Oakland took control of the first set early on, with Condon and Deatsch getting the first two kills. The Penguins defense could not keep up with Oakland as the Golden Grizzlies constantly sent kills over the net. Oakland won the first set 25-19.

At the start of the second set, Oakland kept up its strong offense. But with the score at 15-8 Oakland, Youngstown stepped up its offense, scoring four points in a row. Lauren Blanco got three points for the Penguins by prompting an attack error, making a kill and getting a service ace. Blanco helped decrease Oakland’s lead to 15-11. Timeout Golden Grizzlies.

Oakland came out of the timeout hitting hard. Condon, Dood and Deatsch saw holes in the Youngstown defense and all got kills that helped widen the team’s lead. Deatsch and middle hitter Krysteena Davis blocked a Youngstown kill attempt. The Penguins could not keep up with Oakland’s offense and lost the set 25-17.

Youngstown took control of the court at the beginning of the third set, with Sam Brown getting in two kills and a block. The Golden Grizzlies soon turned the tables on the Penguins, though. Lentz helped set up Condon to come in with three kills in a row early on. Oakland kept up its intense offense and won the third set 25-18.