OU Volleyball Primed for Stellar Season

Aug. 11, 1999

Celebrating its 25th anniversary in the last year of the millennium, the 1999 Oklahoma volleyball team looks to add to the winning tradition the program has established in its first 25 years of play.

Danielle Cornelius-Bookout

Heading into the 21st century, OU's future is extremely bright. But the future for this team could possibly be in the present. With added depth, last year's demoralizing injuries now mended, and a highly touted group of newcomers coming in to contribute this year, this team has the potential to make some noise right away.

Youth and experience could possibly be the right mixture for success for the Sooners as 11 letterwinners and four of the six starters from last year's squad return. Also returning to the court will be sophomores Danielle Cornelius-Bookout and Chantae Weathers. Weathers was an NCAA partial qualifier a year ago, while Cornelius-Bookout redshirted due to a knee injury.

"Our goal is to win the Big 12 Conference and the national championship," OU head coach Miles Pabst said. "It is the same goal every year. Our expectations are extremely high and the players have been working hard. The key to our entire season is we have to stay away from injuries, unlike we did last year. If we can do that, we will have an exceptional season. We are going to step out on the court with the idea we are going to win that match. That is a big step for our players."

Pabst also added five players - one transfer and four true freshmen. Portland University transfer Cathy Cook is expected to make the most significant impact of the newcomers. The junior appeared in every match at Portland and was the 1997 West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year. She was one of 36 players invited to try out for Team USA that competed in the 1999 Goodwill Games and Pan American Games.

"This is one of the best recruiting classes that we've had in recent years in terms of experience and potential to play right away," said Pabst. "Several of our newcomers have the ability to contribute immediately. Cathy (Cook) played at Portland last year and Chantae (Weathers) spent the summer practicing with the U.S. national team, so both are ready to step in and perform."

Carolyn Kittell

Setters
Junior Carolyn Kittell (Laguna Beach, Calif.) returns to lead the team from the setter position. Kittell ended the 1998 season ranked ninth in the Big 12 Conference with 11.40 assists per game and eighth in league matches only with an average of 11.58 apg. Kittell also ranked second on the team in total digs with 265. After missing the first five matches, she became a starter against South Carolina, a position she held for the remainder of the season. She had a career-high 77 assists against nationally-ranked Kansas State and posted a season-best 19 digs vs. Texas. In Oklahoma's three five-game matches, Kittell registered 60-plus assists in each and recorded 10-or-more digs in 13 matches. "Carolyn is an exceptional setter, very gifted, a very competitive young lady and she has a great heart. She refuses to get beat and when we do lose, it just eats at her."

Assisting Kittell at the setter position will be freshman Elizabeth Newman (Tulsa). Newman, a graduate of Jenks High School, led the Trojans to back-to-back state championship titles in 1996 and 1997. She was an All-State selection her senior year and earned all-conference honors three times. In addition to contributing her skills as a setter, she will also serve as a defensive specialist this season. Pabst says that Newman has all the tools necessary to uphold the Oklahoma tradition of outstanding setters.

Melissa Christman

Outside Hitters
Senior Melissa Christman (Kansas City, Mo.) returns to the outside hitting position after having her best collegiate season in 1998. Christman showed flashes of her brilliant potential at the Wake Forest Invitational where she earned all-tournament honors. Throughout the season, she established career highs in all but one statistical category, including 20 kills against Kansas State and four service aces versus Kansas. This season, if she stays healthy, she could emerge as a dominant star.

Redshirt sophomore Danielle Cornelius-Bookout (Hereford, Texas) has been moved from the middle to an outside hitter position to utilize her offensive skills. Cornelius-Bookout had a stellar freshman year before suffering a season-ending ACL injury in November. She spent last year getting stronger and will be expected to be an impact player this season. The Texas native ended her rookie season in 1997 ranked 14th in the Big 12 in hitting percentage (.293) and 11th in blocks (1.16) per game. Cornelius-Bookout also spent her spare time planning her wedding to former OU baseball great Casey Bookout. The two were married on June 14, 1999. "Danielle will be our number one left-side hitter and Melissa will continue to contribute at the outside hitter position" Pabst said. "I would like to leave Danielle on the court to give her as much playing time but I want to make sure we do not over use her because of her knee problems."

Senior Melissa Stringfield (Spring, Texas) also returns to the lineup and will see action at a variety of positions because of her versatility. Stringfield ended her first season with OU as the fourth-best server in Big 12 only matches with an average of 0.33 aces per game. She finished second on the team in total service aces with 33, one short of tying former Sooner great Meredith Van Horn for first.

Junior Maria Holmgren (Trelleborg, Sweden), who was recruited by OU through the use of the Internet, produced two double-doubles last season, including a career-high 19 kills and 11 digs against Marshall at the Wake Forest Invitational. Holmgren saw action in all but one match last season.

Maria Holmgren

Another solid addition to the outside is sophomore Chantae Weathers (San Antonio, Texas). The former Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 selection has been moved from the middle blocker position this season. Weathers, who was an NCAA partial qualifier last year, spent the summer practicing with the U.S. national team in Colorado Springs, Colo., and has the potential to be one of the top players in the league. She has the athletic ability and skills to attract the attention of several national publications.

"We will use those three (Cornelius-Bookout, Stringfield and Weathers) at the outside hitter spot," Pabst said. "I expect them to do well in the rotation. We can use all three them in a match."

Middle Blockers
Possibly the biggest question mark offensively on the team is the middle blockers. The Sooners have a lack of depth at this position but have a solid player in Cathy Cook (Irvine, Calif.) coming in to help immediately.

Not only does Cook, who transferred from Portland University, provide outstanding athleticism but she has tremedous size and bring two years of collegiate experience with her to the OU campus. Cook's potential is limitless and Pabst looks for the transfer to emerge as a starter. She ranked among the best West Coast Conference blockers last season and led Portland in blocks per game and kills per game.

"Cathy will start at our M-1 position," Pabst said. "She has a lot of experience and she can jump. She is an excellent blocker and hitter. She will add a great deal to this team and fill a huge void that we had last year at the middle blocker position."

Returning from the 1998 lineup will be junior Holly McMillan (Altaville, Calif.) and partial starter Robin Wieskus (Jackson, Minn.). McMillan showed potential last season to be an aggressive blocker. She finished her sophomore year ranked second on the team in hitting percentage (.239) and fourth behind Wieskus in total blocks (64). Wieskus' playing time will depend on her health. For the past three years, the 6-1 blocker has battled tough injuries. She redshirted as a freshman due to an ACL injury and as a sophomore injured her back in the season opener.

"We will have Holly in the other middle block position," Pabst said. "We have to stay healthy, especially at this position, because we moved Danielle and Chantae from the middle to the outside."

Rounding out the middle blocking corps is 6-4 Johnetta Hayes (Houston, Texas), 6-1 Patrice Corbin (Tulsa) and 6-0 LaKeisha Broom (Birmingham, Ala.). Their presence adds size, blocking ability and talent to an already strong middle blocker contingent.

Hayes, the tallest player on this year's roster, was a three-time first-team all-district and all-city selection. She was also considered one of the best high school basketball players to come out of the state of Texas. Corbin has only been playing volleyball for the past three years but has the athletic ability to be a contributor in the future. Broom ended her prep career as Alabama's all-time leader in kills and ranked second for most service aces.

"Patrice is an exceptional middle blocker," Pabst said. "Johnetta could play left, middle or right and she is a dominating type of player. She will be us until October 15 and then she will go play basketball, so she will most likely be redshirted. What I really would like to do is redshirt the entire freshman class. It benefits them and it help the program."

Defensive Specialists
Three players, juniors Maxine Zubiaga (Carrollton, Texas) and Allison Silveira (Elgin, Ill.), and sophomore Ravene Brooks (Ft. Worth, Texas) return as defensive specialists. Each provided valuable serving, defense and passing last year. Silveira landed 14 service aces and had 80 digs in 76 games, while Zubiaga saw action in 87 games earning 60 digs. Brooks is a walk-on who saw action in three matches last season as a defensive specialist.

Schedule
"This may be stretching it a little bit, but I want to be 16-0 when we hit Nebraska and we have a very good chance of doing that," Pabst said. "If this team stays healthy, I feel like we will win those matches and the conference championship. If we avoid the injuries, we are an NCAA-playoff bound team without question."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

OU Volleyball Primed for Stellar Season

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