Sept. 6, 2008
NORMAL, Ill. - The Oakland Grizzlies reached the .500 mark with a win over Western Carolina Catamounts in four sets (20-25, 25-11, 25-21, 25-14) Saturday afternoon at the Redbird Classic at Redbird Arena.
In the first set Western Carolina (0-7) opened up an early 11-4 lead, but Oakland (3-3) battled back and tied the game at 16. Despite the Grizzlies late surge, the Catamounts held on to win the first set 25-20. Freshman Brittany Lysik led Western Carolina with six kills.
A new team emerged for Oakland in the second set as they built a 17-6 lead and refused to relinquish it, winning the set 25-11. The Grizzlies were led by Ashleigh Slemmer and Stephanie Parklin with three kills apiece.
Oakland snuck by Western Carolina in the third set, winning 25-21. Lauren Duquette set the tone defensively recording 9 digs in the set and a game-high 23.
In the fourth and final set, Western Carolina scored the first three points before Oakland trumped the Catamounts with an 11-3 run and never looked back. Oakland was led by Stephanie Parking with four kills en route to a 25-14 win.
The match marks the end of the tournament for both teams. Oakland finished the Redbird Classic with a 1-2 record while Western Carolina ended 0-3.
