On Friday, Sept. 26 and Saturday, Sept. 27, Golden Grizzlies Volleyball opened up their league play with back-to-back 3-0 losses against Milwaukee. They opened up the first set on Friday with a fierce face, scoring valuable offensive points from Ella Martin and Caroline Moore. Oakland was able to keep up with Milwaukee despite them having a quick response.
Halfway through the set, the Panthers gained momentum and created a gap that the Grizzlies couldn’t stitch back up. Ultimately, the Panthers closed out the set 25-14.
Going into the second set, the Grizzlies capitalized on a service error to level the score early. The Grizzlies managed to tie the game at 14 with a swift kill from Libby Smith, despite attack errors.
Oakland then advanced to a 16-14 lead thanks to defensive work from Caroline Moore and Grace Cooney. Milwaukee acted fast and tied up the score again at 23, where Oakland responded with a kill and leveled at 24.
Despite this effort, the Panthers pulled ahead to close out the set 27-25.
The Grizzlies put their game face on for the third set and got out strong with an ace from Kiley Gallagher for the first point.
Milwaukee then pulled ahead thanks to a series of attacking errors from Oakland, bringing the score to 5-2 — the Panthers then pulled ahead with consistent scoring bringing it to 11-6.
Oakland’s Libby Smith kept delivering kills, but it just wasn’t enough to stop the Panthers from taking the set 25-15 and the game 3-0.
Overall Oakland’s Libby Smith led offensively with 12 kills and five digs. Delaney Stern eased the attack with 25 assists, while contributing three kills. Defensive specialist Kiley Gallagher recorded 11 digs and a service ace in the back row.
On Saturday, the first set opened with a kill from Oakland’s Caroline Moore to briefly take the lead. The Panthers clapped back with a series of points and took advantage of Oakland’s attacking errors to take the lead.
Despite an offensive effort from the Grizzlies, the Panthers maintained their edge and widened the gap. Oakland was resilient and closed the gap 19-17 after a series of points, including an ace from Kalli Cook.
The Panthers capitalized in the closing phase and sealed it up 25-18.
The second set started with Milwaukee finding an early advantage, but Oakland responded by capitalizing on Milwaukee’s errors and keeping the score close.
As the set proceeded, the Grizzlies found their rhythm, highlighting a series of successful blocks and a service ace from Caroline Moore to tie the set at 23. Oakland took a brief 24-23 lead before Milwaukee closed out the set 26-24.
Oakland opened the third set by capitalizing on a service error from Milwaukee, taking the lead.
Ellen Zapp combined with Delaney Stern to get momentum, giving two key kills and two service aces to take a 5-1 lead. Milwaukee quickly picked up to surge ahead.
Despite Oakland’s efforts, Milwaukee was able to keep control, and the Panthers won the set 25-14.
Oakland’s Libero, Lyse Bates, led the defense with 17 digs, and Anika Prisby contributed seven kills out of 10 attempts. Delaney Stern recorded 26 assists and two service aces.