Sooners Prepare For Three Top 25 Opponents This Week :: Weekly news and notes on the Oklahoma volleyball team.

Sooners Prepare For Three Top 25 Opponents This Week :: Weekly news and notes on the Oklahoma volleyball team. Sooners Prepare For Three Top 25 Opponents This Week

Weekly news and notes on the Oklahoma volleyball team.

	Sophomore Logan Pierce leads the Sooners into this week's action against No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 2 Nebraska and No. 25 Colorado.

Nov. 12, 2001

NORMAN, Okla.-The Sooners have a tough week ahead of them with three matches against Top 25 teams. Oklahoma begins the week with a 7 p.m. home match against No. 13 Texas A&M. The match was originally set for Sept. 12 but was rescheduled due to the national events that transpired that week. The Sooners then play host to No. 2 Nebraska on Wednesday, Nov. 14, at the Howard McCasland Field House. Match time with the Huskers is set for 7 p.m. OU rounds out the week with a 2 p.m. match at No. 25 Colorado.

Texas A&M, 19-4 overall and 12-3 in the Big 12, leads the all-time series with OU, 23-1, dating back to 1974. The Sooners' lone win over the Aggies was on Sept. 15, 1979, in Denton, Texas. Texas A&M won the first match of the season series, 3-0, on Oct. 31 in College Station, Texas.

Coming off a 3-0 victory over Iowa State, the Aggies are being led by Erin Lechler, who averages 3.67 kills per game, and Michelle Cole, who averages 4.28 digs per game. Setter Jenna Mosovic leads the team in hitting percentage at .337 and assists at 13.35 assists per game. Melissa Muncsh leads the Aggie defense with 0.97 blocks per game.

Nebraska (22-1, 15-0 Big 12) has a 54-6 edge over the Sooners in the all-time series, which dates back to 1975. OU last defeated NU, 3-0, on Oct. 10, 1997, in Norman, Okla. The Huskers won the first match of the season series, 3-0, in Lincoln.

Nancy Metcalf paces Nebraska with 4.55 kills per game, while averaging a team-high 3.16 digs per game. Amber Holmquist averages a team-best .408 hitting percentage. Jenny Kropp averages 1.82 blocks per game to lead the Huskers.

Colorado (16-8, 11-5 Big 12) has a 25-9 advantage over Oklahoma in the all-time series, dating back to 1986. The Sooners last defeated the Buffs, 3-2, on Nov. 2, 1996. CU won the first game of the season series, 3-0, in Boulder.

Leading the Buffaloes into action this week are Monique Gerlach, who averages 3.71 kills per game, and Meghan Barkman, who hold a team-high .346 hitting percentage). Defensively, Sonja Russell averages a team-best 3.62 digs per game, while Barkman averages 1.43 blocks per game.

Leading the Sooners
Oklahoma is being led by sophomore Logan Pierce, who is averaging 3.18 kills per game and 2.47 digs per game. Freshman Candice Woods paces OU with a .201 hitting percentage and 0.80 blocks per game. Freshman Gretchen French is averaging 0.74 bpg in 50 games to trail Woods. Junior setter Jessica Barney remains strong at the service line with 0.39 sapg, good for ninth place in the Big 12, while leading the offense with 9.37 assists per game. Freshman Emily Kincaid is averaging 0.35 sapg in 40 games of action.

Among the Big 12
Oklahoma continues to sit at seventh place in the league in service aces (1.44 sapg) with Jessica Barney ranking ninth in the conference (0.39 sapg). In conference games, Logan Pierce is averaging 3.62 kills per game, good for 10th place.

Texas A&M ranks first in assists (16.44 apg), first in kills (17.74 kpg), first in digs (19.09 dpg) and fourth in hitting percentage (.244). Jenna Mosovic ranks third in assists (13.35 apg) on the individual charts, while Michelle Cole ranks first in digs (4.28 dpg).

Nebraska sits at the top of the league charts in hitting percentage (.301) and blocks (4.19 bpg). The Huskers rank third in digs (17.33 dpg), fourth in kills (16.90 kpg) and fifth in assists (15.03 apg). Amber Holmquist and Jenny Kropp take the top two spots in hitting percentage (.408 and .363, respectively). The two also rank first and second in blocks (1.82 bpg and 1.77 bpg, respectively). Nancy Metcalf ranks fourth in kills (4.55 kpg) and Greichaly Cepero ranks fourth in assists (12.82 apg).

Colorado ranks second in blocks (2.83 bpg), third in assists (15.56 apg) and fifth in hitting percentage (.236) and kills (16.89 kpg). Meghan Barkman sits at third place in blocks (1.45 bpg) and hitting percentage (.352). A.D. Achilefu ranks third in service aces (0.46 sapg).

Winding Down
The Sooners have only five matches remaining this season. After facing three Top 25 teams this week (No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 2 Nebraska, No. 25 Colorado), Oklahoma ends the season with their last home match against Iowa State on Wednesday, Nov. 21, and their final match of the season at Texas on Saturday, Nov. 24.

Week in Review
The University of Oklahoma volleyball team was swept by Baylor at home and Texas Tech on the road last week. The Sooners lost to Baylor at home via scores of 30-21, 30-17 and 30-25. Logan Pierce led OU with 12 kills and a .265 hitting percentage, while Emily Kincaid paced the Sooners with 10 digs. Denise Griffin tied a career-best three service aces, and Candice Woods posted a team-high three blocks.

Oklahoma was on the road against Texas Tech, dropping the match by scores of 30-17, 30-16 and 30-15. The Red Raiders shut down the Sooner offense, holding them to a .101 hitting percentage while posting a .443 hitting clip. Pierce, who averages 3.18 kills per game, was held to four kills on the night. Griffin posted a team-best six kills,while Jessica Barney hustled for a team-high six digs.

Double-Doubles
Logan Pierce leads the Sooners with eight double-doubles, her most recent a 12-kill, 11-dig effort against Wichita State last weekend at the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational at SMS. Jessica Barney trails Pierce with six double-doubles. Barney posted her sixth double-double against Wichita State, dishing out a team-high 33 assists and hustling for a team-best 16 digs.

At the Sam Houston State Tournament, Christina Barlow recorded four double-doubles in five matches. Griffin has recorded two double-doubles (Nebraska and Iowa State) while Lindsay Hoyt had one against KU (10 kills, 15 digs).

Head Coach Kalani Mahi
In his second year, Head Coach Kalani Mahi is 2-26 overall and 1-14 in conference play this season. Mahi and the Sooners snapped Kansas' perfect 10-0 start, best in program history, on Sept. 22 with a 3-1 victory in the Howard McCasland Field House.

Mahi has coached three players to all-tournament honors this season. Candice Woods was named to the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational All-Tournament Team, Denise Griffin earned all-tournament honors at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic and sophomore Logan Pierce was named to the Sam Houston State All-Tournament Team.

In his first year at OU, Mahi led the team to a 7-21 overall finish.

Howard McCasland Field House: Home of Sooner Volleyball
The University of Oklahoma Howard McCasland Field House, home of OU volleyball, is currently going through several renovations. As part of Greater Expectations: The Campaign for Sooner Sports, the newly renamed Howard McCasland Field House, previously the OU Field House, has already seen renovations in the volleyball locker rooms, team room and bathroom/shower area. Work will also be done on the seating areas, lighting, sound system, restrooms, concession areas, ADA and life safety needs. The Field House will also be equipped with a heating and cooling system. Construction will be completed in phases as private funds become available. One million dollars has already been pledged by a private donor.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Prepare For Three Top 25 Opponents This Week :: Weekly news and notes on the Oklahoma volleyball team.

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors