Volleyball Sweeps Past Missouri, 3-0

Nov. 3, 1999

NORMAN, Okla. - Junior Cathy Cook led the University of Oklahoma volleyball team to a 15-4, 15-13, 15-13 sweep over Big 12 Conference foe Missouri Wednesday night at the OU Field House in Norman. Cook produced 11 kills on 15 attempts without committing an error for an impressive .733 hitting percentage. The Irvine, Calif., product currently ranks 13th in the nation in hitting efficiency with a .390.

In the opening game, OU took a 6-0 lead before Missouri recorded its first point. The Tigers couldn't muster any type of offense or defense as the Sooners hit .467 and nailed four service aces for the game. Cook landed six of her 11 kills in the opening contest.

There were seven ties, five lead changes and both squads hit .150 or less in the second game. Oklahoma took its first lead, 4-3, on a blocking error by MU's Rachael Taylor. However, the Tigers reeled off four consecutive points, pushing Missouri to a 7-4 advantage. Oklahoma fought back and tied the game for the final time, 13-13, on a kill by senior Melissa Christman. OU took the game on back-to-back attack errors by MU's Krista Johnson.

Missouri jumped out early in the third game, 3-0, but Oklahoma tied it at 4-4. OU gained a 9-4 advantage and forced Missouri to call its first timeout of the game. The Tigers were able to cut the lead as they forced the Sooners to commit three consecutive errors while MU landed three back-to-back aces to close the gap to 12-11. Freshman outside hitter Lisa Morris landed her third kill of the game to give MU a brief 13-12 lead. However, it was Morris' attack error that gave the Sooners the game, 15-13, and the match, 3-0.

"Overall, this was a good win for us," said OU Head Coach Miles Pabst. "Coming back the way we did in the second and third games showed a sign of maturity. Earlier in the season we were never able to come back. Tonight our distribution was excellent, everyone got involved. With 11 service aces and 11 blocks to Missouri's two blocks the score shouldn't have been as close as it was. We let down for a while, but then we scrambled on defense and we got back up."

"Last month at Missouri we thought we had it won. We were up 14-5 in the third game and they started to get momentum. We tightened up and lost the match, 3-2, but the difference tonight was that we stayed relaxed and focused. When we had to have a play we were able to step up."

Outside of Cook's solid offensive performance, sophomore middle blocker Danielle Bookout produced a match-high seven blocks, while tallied Christman's six blocks. Junior setter Carolyn Kittell and freshman Liz Newman equaled and set career bests, respectively, with four service aces each. Sophomore outside hitter Chantae Weather contributed nine kills, while Bookout added eight and Christman and junior Maria Holmgren recorded seven apiece. Kittell also collected 38 assists.

Missouri was led by Nicole Panzau's eight kills and Naaron Branson's six digs on the evening.

As a team, OU hit .323 and collected 11 blocks for its fourth best performance of the season in both categories. The Sooners also landed 45 kills on 99 attempts with only 13 errors. Missouri hit .158, had 44 kills on 120 attempts and committed 25 errors. However, the Tigers earned a 31-30 edge over the Sooners in the dig category.

Oklahoma improved to 8-15 overall and 3-10 in the league, while the Tigers dropped to 8-16 and 2-11.

OU's next match will be against 12th-ranked Texas (16-4, 10-2 Big 12) on Saturday, Nov. 6, in Austin, Texas.