After winning the first two sets, it looked like the Oakland Grizzlies would have cruised to a victory but Wright State University (WSU) had no quit in them, eventually coming up short to Oakland in five intense sets.

The first set was closely contested with Wright State and Oakland trading blows back and forth. Alexandra Malek made two key blocks which really helped Oakland hold off Wright State in the set. Oakland ended up taking the set 25 to 23.

Set two was Oakland’s best set, and they won this one by 12 points. Jamie Walling started to heat up, making kill after kill and finishing the game with a whopping 15 kills. Malek capped off the game with a game-winning block, and Oakland went into the break with high confidence.

“I thought we did a great job and we really gutted it out,” Head Coach Rob Beam said. “We did everything right, we blocked a ton of balls and we had a ton of aces against a good passing team.”

Coming out the gate in the third set, Oakland seemed caught off guard by the pressure Wright State was applying on them. WSU went up 10-15 forcing Oakland to call a timeout. The adjustments made were not enough as Oakland dropped the set 18-25.

Once again in the fourth set, Oakland seemed to be missing key shots while Wright State made big kills, blocks and digs throughout the set. After the game was 10 to 10 WSU went on a tear, from there the set was over. Wright State took the set 25-18 once again.

The game had been pushed to five sets, the tension in the O’Rena was thick among players and fans. Wright State started with a quick three to one lead only to have Oakland score three points in a row to take the lead. Going back and forth it came down to the wire, and the score was 14-12 Oakland.

There was a controversial call that would have given Oakland the win but the official missed a supposed out of bounds call. The ball had landed past the line, and the crowd was outraged but the Oakland players and coaching staff stayed composed. They rallied behind each other to play a stout last point, forcing Wright State into an error and an Oakland victory.

“Wright State is really good. The league is really good,” Beam said. “I think this is a great win for us… I’d like to continue to see us grow in confidence and continue to unite as a team.”

Oakland’s next home game is on Saturday, Oct. 13 against the Wright State Raiders.