Over the weekend on Aug. 29 and 30, the Oakland Volleyball team traveled to Western Michigan University to compete in the Bronco classic where they finished with a 2-2 record which was good enough for 3rd place behind tournament champs Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) and second-place Western Michigan.

The Golden Grizzlies split day one with a swift 3-0 victory over Louisiana Tech and a loss to Western Michigan 3-2.

Oaklnd cruised by Louisiana Tech with set scores of 25-12, 25-18 and 25-16, giving head coach Rob Beam his 100th career-win. Ciara Schultz led the Golden Grizzlies to victory by handing out 34 assists in the match.

In the second game of the day, Oakland fell short. Schultz was back hard at work and dealt out 45 assists while Cassie Pelloni finished with 14 kills. “This was a championship-level match in the first week,” Beam said.

In day two of the Bronco Classic, Oakland came out firing on all cylinders against the eventual champions IPFW and took the first set 25-16. They failed to turn that momentum into a win, dropping three consecutive sets 25-20, 25-15 and 25-20. Schultz accumulated another 28 assists in the match as Pelloni and Jessica Dood led the team with nine kills each.

In the final match of the tournament it was sophomore Melissa Deatsch that led the Grizzlies to a three sets to one victory over Saint Francis.

Deatsch had a career-best 20 kills in the match helping Oakland on their way to set scores of 25-18, 25-22, 25-22, and 25-16. Amanda Baker, who would go on to be the only Golden Grizzly to receive all tournament honors, had 11 kills in the effort and Schultz had a double-double in the match with 37 points and 13 digs.

The Golden Grizzlies will be back on the road for the Tiger Invitational hosted by the Missouri Tigers Sept. 5 and 6.