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ROCHESTER, Mich. – Head coach Krista Rice and the Oakland Golden Grizzlies are headed to Mount Pleasant to face Central Michigan in a midweek in-state battle on Wednesday, Sept. 2. The match inside McGuirk Arena is slated for a 6 p.m. start time on ESPN+.
Oakland opened the 2026 season with a dominant 3-0 sweep of Binghamton (25-21, 25-19, 25-23) in Toledo, showcasing an efficient .301 team hitting percentage. Molly Reck led the Golden Grizzlies with a career-high 19 kills, while freshman Liv Hosford made an impressive collegiate debut with 14 kills on a .423 hitting percentage and 11 digs for a double-double. Delaney Stern paced the offense with 52 assists, and Lillian Frias added 10 kills in her return from injury.
Despite the season-opening win, the Golden Grizzlies dropped their final two matches at the Rocket Invitational in Toledo: falling to Bradley in five sets and Toledo in straight sets. Oakland battled Bradley in a close match, winning the third and fourth sets to force a decisive fifth set before falling 15-12.
Against Bradley, freshman Liv Hosford turned in a standout performance, recording a team-high 21 kills while hitting .327 and adding 10 digs for her second collegiate match. Her 21 kills mark the first freshman to hit 20+ kills in a match since 2013.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 2
OPPONENT: Central Michigan
TIME: 6 p.m. ET
LIVE STATS | TICKETS
STREAM: ESPN+
SCOUTING THE CHIPPEWAS
Opening the season in Pac-12 country, Central Michigan went 0-3 over the weekend at the Cougar Invitational in Pullman, falling to Montana, Omaha and Washington State, all in straight sets. Taylor Cripe led the Chippewas offensively throughout the weekend, recording 14 kills in the season opener, a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs against Omaha, and 11 kills against Washington State.
The Chippewas finished the 2025 season 9-21 with a 6-13 record in the MAC, failing to make the MAC Tournament, despite now-graduated senior Natalia Rejment being named second-team All-MAC. Mount Pleasant is a homecoming for Oakland head coach Krista Rice, as Rice was an assistant/associate coach at Central Michigan from 2016-20.
How to Follow Oakland Volleyball: For complete information on Oakland Volleyball, follow the team on X at @OaklandWVB and head coach Krista Rice at @KKg1007. The team is also on Instagram.