Volleyball Hosts Missouri, Visits Texas

Nov. 2, 1999

NORMAN, Okla. - The Oklahoma volleyball team (7-15, 2-10) hosts Missouri (8-15, 2-10) on Wednesday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. at the OU Field House in Norman, Okla. Following OU's match with MU, the Sooners travel to Austin, Texas, to face the seventh-ranked Texas Longhorns (16-4, 10-2) at the Gregory Gymnasium on Saturday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m.

OU lost to Missouri and Texas in the first of the two-match series earlier this season. Against the Tigers, OU lost in five games with game scores of 15-9, 10-15, 15-7, 14-16, 14-16, in Columbia. Texas defeated OU in four games, 17-15, 2-15, 11-15, 8-15, in Norman.

Oklahoma leads the all-time series 31-14 against Missouri. Texas is a perfect 15-0 when playing the Sooners.

LAST WEEK
Oklahoma swept Iowa State, 3-0 (15-3, 15-5, 15-12), in Norman, Okla., and lost 3-1 (6-15, 7-15, 15-9, 3-15) to Colorado in Boulder, Colo., last week.

In the two matches, OU was led by sophomore outside hitter Danielle Bookout who produced 33 kills, hit .460 and collected 11 blocks. Bookout produced a career-high seven block assists vs. Colorado and hit a personal-best .550 against ISU. She also finished second in digs with 15. Junior middle blocker Cathy Cook ended the week with 29 kills, a .396 hitting percentage and six blocks, while sophomore outside hitter Chantae Weathers produced 27 kills and added four blocks. Junior setter Carolyn Kittell had a team-high 110 assists and 21 digs.

1999 SOONERS
Oklahoma opened the 1999 season winning five of its first seven matches. The Sooners finished second in the Cal Poly Tournament, third in the Sooner Invitational and fourth in the Northwestern Classic in September. OU's Cathy Cook, Carolyn Kittell and Maria Holmgren have earned all-tournament honors in at least one tournament this season. Cook was named to each all-tournament team.

The second match of the Northwestern Classic started a four-match losing streak for the Sooners. OU snapped that streak by sweeping Iowa State for its first Big 12 win of the season. That victory would have to last for the next eight matches until OU hosted the Cyclones in Norman and picked up its second conference win of the season last week.

Oklahoma has had solid production from junior transfer Cathy Cook. Cook led the nation in hitting percentage for four weeks and currently ranks 11th (.390). The Irvine, Calif., product leads the team in hitting percentage (.390), kills (241) and blocks (80). Other contributors to the offense are outside hitters Chantae Weathers, Melissa Christman and Danielle Bookout who follow Cook with 208, 198 and 190 kills, respectively. Christman also ranks among the Big 12 Conference best in service aces per game, averaging 0.39. Junior setter Carolyn Kittell paces the team with 165 digs and 910 assists on the year. Kittell's 2,016 career assists pushes her to No. 4 on the school's all-time assists list.

Junior defensive specialist Maxine Zubiaga is the only other Sooner to have collected more than 100 digs on the season. She owns 125 digs, ranking her second on the team. At the net, OU has had solid contribution from numerous players. Not only has Cook been effective for OU, but Christman has 50 blocks to her credit, more than she collected her first two seasons at OU. She's followed by Weathers' 49 blocks and junior middle blocker Holly McMillan's 44 total blocks.

HEAD COACH MILES PABST
Miles Pabst is in his 23rd season as the head volleyball coach at Oklahoma. During his tenure, Pabst has established an overall record of 440-393, participated in three NCAA Tournaments (1987, 1988, 1997) and two NIVC Tournaments (1993, 1995). The 1973 graduate of Long Beach State is one of only two head volleyball coaches to ever direct an OU volleyball program. The first coach was Amy Dahl (1974-77).

UP NEXT
The Sooners travel to Lawrence, Kan. on Wed., Nov. 10, for a 7 p.m. match against Kansas at the Horejsi Athletics Center (1,300).

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS
Missouri (8-15, 2-10 Big 12): Missouri is currently on a five-match losing streak. The Tigers have been swept by eight of their last 10 opponents, however, UM took Missouri-Kansas City and Iowa State in straight games for their last two wins. Missouri and Oklahoma are currently tied for seventh place in the Big 12 Conference with identical 2-10 records.

The Tigers depend on the duo of freshman middle blocker Christi Myers and sophomore outside hitter Naaron Branson for their offensive production as each has 236 and 235 kills, respectively. Leading Missouri defensively is junior middle blocker Annette Luyten with 216 digs and 55 total blocks. Junior Heather Gerber has a team-high 776 assists.

Missouri is a solid serving team as freshman Rachel Rieble, redshirt freshman Lisa Morris and Luyten rank among the conference best in aces per game.

Texas (16-4, 10-2 Big 12): Texas remains at the top of the Big 12 Conference and District 5 Rankings. The Longhorns are also ranked ninth in the latest USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll.

UT opened the season winning its first six matches before losing back-to-back outings against nationally-ranked Penn State. The Longhorns rolled off five-straight wins before Kansas State upset UT, 3-1, in Austin, Texas. Texas has now won five of its last six matches with its most recent win coming against Kansas, 3-0, at the Gregory Gymnasium in Austin.

The Longhorns are paced by senior middle blocker Erin Aldrich who leads the team in kills (320), hitting percentage (.330), block assists (95), solo blocks (23) and total blocks (118). Aldrich ranks 19th in the nation in kills per game (5.00) and third in blocks per game (1.84). She also ranks second on the team in digs with teammate Holly Doran with 209. Sandra Reboucas is the team leader in digs with 259. UT's setter Jill Gremmel, a junior, leads the Big 12 Conference and the Longhorns and ranks third in the nation with 991 assists. She also lead the Big 12 in most service aces per game, averaging 0.46.

Aldrich was named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Week on Oct. 4 and Oct. 25.

OU Projected Starters

Pos.	#	Name	Ht.	Cl.	Hometown	KPG	DPG	BPG
S	23	Carolyn Kittell	5-7	So.	Laguna Beach, Calif.	0.74	2.06	11.38 apg
MB	13	Cathy Cook	6-2	Jr.	Irvine, Calif.	3.01	0.89	0.75
OH	2	Melissa Christman	6-1	Jr.	Kansas City, Mo.	2.51	0.81	0.63
DS	5	Maxine Zubiaga	5-9	So.	Carrollton, Texas	0.00	1.62	0.00
OH	15	Danielle Bookout	6-0	So.	Hereford, Texas	2.97	1.30	0.52
OH	8	Chantae Weathers	6-2	So.	San Antonio, Texas	2.77	0.73	0.65
Sooner Reserves
MB	9	Holly McMillan	6-0	So.	Altaville, Calif.	1.46	1.26	0.72
DS	3	Allison Silveira	5-8	So.	Elgin, Ill.	0.03	0.94	0.00
OH	1	Maria Holmgren	6-1	So.	Trelleborg, Sweden	2.00	0.60	0.26
DS	11	Ravene Brooks	5-7	So.	Fort Worth, Texas	0.00	0.60	0.00

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Volleyball Hosts Missouri, Visits Texas

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