From Sept. 29 to Oct. 20, the Oakland University volleyball team had six straight victories. The team has had a great deal of consistency between different seasons, each one improving more than the last.

“In my opinion, success is earned through consistent and directed effort,” Head Coach Rob Beam said.

Last season’s conference record was 10-6. As for this season, the Golden Grizzlies are currently at 7-3. The team is incredibly close in surpassing last season’s statistics with only three losses. The first victory of the streak began with Wright State University, the team hopes to get even more wins after the streak’s end.

“I believe that the players are proud of their accomplishments, but are hungry for more,” Beam said.

The volleyball team works hard in preparing for victories. The team meets every Tuesday and Thursday and practices for a solid two and a half hours, preparing drills and testing different positions. The team has unquestioningly grown in success and numbers since its first year as an NCAA Division I team back in 1979.

“Our student-athletes put out a tremendous amount of effort, not just physically on the court, but with our staff and as teammates,” Beam said. “They found a way to come together, raise their level and do it together.”

This will be Beam’s eleventh season as Oakland volleyball’s head coach.

“Personally, this has been a rewarding season because I think we worked well together to find new, creative solutions that fit this group,” Beam said.

Coherence is a popular and necessary element regarding all sports at Oakland. Without coherence, the team lacks the trust and skills needed to move forward to more ambitious competitions. Moving forward with the season, Beam “wants to continue to improve [the team’s] execution and build even better relationships between the players and coaches.”

Furthermore, participation and attendance are vital to the teams as their performance almost always exceeds expectations. All of the coaches seem to encourage new students to come out and see the passion that upperclassmen and players have for their sports teams.

“This year, the student support has been fantastic,” Beam said. The O’rena has presented us with a strong home court advantage and I encourage as many students to come out and watch this team because they are special.”

Despite the end of the six straight game successes, the players remain optimistic to get more wins in the books. The team is also focusing on keeping up good grades, which Oakland is known for in the Horizon League. 

Beam would like to deliver some philosophical advice for students, “On a personal note, I would tell every Oakland student to make the most of their collegiate career. I would encourage them to immerse themselves in the possibilities, gain meaningful experience and build lifelong friendships with students and their faculty and staff.”

The volleyball team will travel to Northern Kentucky to take on the NKU Norse on Oct. 27 at 6 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.