The Oakland volleyball team defeated the Cleveland State University (CSU) Vikings on Friday, Oct. 6, with a final score of 3-1 at the OU Credit Union O’rena.
“Tonight, I think we just played really hard,” assistant coach Kyle Stahl said. “We stuck to our gameplan and really executed on a high level for the most part throughout the match. Cleveland State is a really solid team, and they did a lot of things that challenged us, and I thought we responded really well to that.”
After some back-and-forth trading between both teams in the first set, the Grizzlies started to gain momentum, going on a 5-0 run, bringing the score to 7-2 in OU’s favor.
After a CSU timeout, the Vikings started to cut into the OU lead. However, the Grizzlies went on a 4-1 run, leading the Vikings 16-11, resulting in another Viking timeout.
Following some more back-and-forth between both teams, the Grizzlies started to pull away towards the end of the set, ultimately winning with a score of 25-18.
In the second set, the Grizzlies continued to cause the Vikings problems. After a 4-1 run, OU took an early 6-3 lead. The Vikings eventually tied it up; however, OU responded with a 3-1 run to bring the lead back in their favor.
The Grizzlies retained their lead, but the next stretch of possession saw CSU battle back as they went on a 6-4 run, cutting the OU lead down to just two points at 22-20.
Following an OU timeout, the Vikings continued to fight back, tying the game 24-24. The Grizzlies called their second timeout of the set as a result.
After the timeout, OU took care of business, winning the night’s second set, outscoring CSU 27-25.
CSU opened the third set with impressive momentum, taking an early 7-3 lead. Throughout the next handful of possessions, the Grizzlies trailed the Vikings 15-10, leading to the first OU timeout of the set.
After a flurry of timeouts from both teams, CSU expanded their lead over OU to 20-13. In response to the growing Viking lead, the Grizzlies called another timeout.
Following their timeout, the Grizzlies cut into the Viking lead, but it wasn’t enough as CSU took set three with a final score of 25-19.
In the fourth set, after a 4-1 run, OU took an early lead over the Vikings. Minutes later, the Grizzlies started to pull away as they expanded their lead to 13-8, leading to several Viking timeouts.
Emerging from their second timeout, CSU started their comeback. The Vikings took their first lead of the set and later expanded their lead to 22-19, forcing an OU timeout.
After their timeout, the Grizzlies went on a miraculous 5-1 run, turning the tables on the Vikings, and took a 24-23 lead.
“Executing at a really high level and staying the course, making sure we’re doing our jobs,” Stahl said on the 5-1 run. “I think we did that really well; we stayed aggressive, and got a couple of breaks, and took advantage of that. We’re just playing really well as a team.”
CSU eventually tied the match at 25-25, and both teams had a thrilling battle to win the set. Despite the Grizzlies taking the lead first, the Vikings answered, scoring two straight points and taking the lead.
Down 27-26, the Grizzlies tied up the match, and Ainsley Guse followed up with a kill, giving OU a one-point lead. OU closed things out on the next possession, winning the set 29-27.
The Grizzlies will appear next on Friday, Oct. 13, where they’ll face off against the University of Milwaukee-Wisconsin at home.
