Sooners Conclude Season With One Win, One Loss :: Weekly News and notes on the Oklahoma volleyball team.

Sooners Conclude Season With One Win, One Loss :: Weekly News and notes on the Oklahoma volleyball team. Sooners Conclude Season With One Win, One Loss

Weekly News and notes on the Oklahoma volleyball team.

	Sophomore Logan Pierce ended the season leading the Sooners in kills and digs.

Nov. 26, 2001

NORMAN, Okla. -With a 3-1victory over Iowa State at home on Wednesday, Nov. 21, the Sooners finished the season 3-30 overall and 2-18 in the Big 12 Conference,10th-best for the second consecutive year. Junior Denise Griffin led the Sooners against the Cyclones, posting a team-high 16 kills and adding 14 digs, four assists, two service aces and two block assists. Freshman Alexia McWhinney hustled for a team-best 18 digs, while freshman Gretchen French posted a team-high five blocks. Three other Sooners posted double digits in kills and digs. Oklahoma ended its season with a 3-0 loss to Texas on Saturday in Austin. Sophomore Logan Pierce paced OU with 11 kills and a career-best .421 hitting clip. Griffin posted a team-best eight digs, while French recorded four blocks to lead the team.

Sooner Leaders
Sophomore Logan Pierce ended the season as the kills and digs leader. She accumulated 343 kills and 263 digs over 108 games, averaging 3.17 kpg and 2.44 dpg.

Junior Jessica Barney collected 1,014 assists while averaging 9.30 apg to lead the team. She was also tops in service aces with 54 (0.39 sapg). Barney ended the year second on the team in digs with 242 (2.22 dpg).

Freshman Candice Woods led the Sooners in hitting percentage and blocking. She hit .189 on the season while tallying 93 blocks (0.85 bpg). She accumulated 208 kills, second behind team leader Pierce.

Junior Denise Griffin finished second on the team with kills per game (1.94) and second in digs per game (2.24). She collected 186 kills and 215 digs in 96 games.

Junior Lindsay Hoyt ended the year with 161 kills, 234 digs and 43 blocks. She averaged a fourth-best 2.15 digs per game.

Freshman Emily Kincaid tallied 20 service aces and averaged a second-best 0.36 sapg. Freshman Gretchen French finished second on the team in blocks per game at 0.82. She collected a second-best 54 blocks in only 66 games of action.

Sophomore Christina Barlow ended the year fourth-best in kills with 182 while playing in all 109 games. She also averaged a fourth-best 1.67 kills per game and 1.90 digs per game. Freshman Alexia McWhinney accumulated 147 digs and averaged a fifth-best 1.73 digs per game.

Among the Big 12
Oklahoma finished the season ranked 10th in the Big 12 Conference with a 2-18 record. The Sooners defeated Kansas, 3-1, on Sept. 22, and Iowa State, 3-1, on Nov. 21. OU ended the regular season ranked eighth in service aces per game (1.45) and ninth in blocks per game (2.01). Jessica Barney was the lone Sooner in the top 10 in the league in the service aces category. She finished the season ranked sixth (0.39 sapg). In conference games, she finished 10th in service aces (0.34 spag) and assists (9.58 apg).

Academic All-Big 12 Honors
Last week, the Big 12 announed its Academic All Big 12 team, which included three Sooners. Christina Barlow and Jessica Barney were named to the first team while Lindsay Hoyt earned second team accolades.

Barlow is a business major, Barney is an English major and Hoyt is majoring in elementary education.

The team consists of 53 total members, including 42 on the first team and 11 on the second team. First team members are required to have a 3.2 grade point average or higher, while second team members are required to have a GPA between 3.0 and 3.19. Members are required to participate in at least 60 percent of the team's games.

Big 12 in the NCAA Tournament
The Big 12 Conference sends a record-high eight teams to the NCAA Tournament, which begins on Nov. 29. No. 2 Nebraska, No. 15 Texas A&M, No. 18 Kansas State, Colorado, Missouri, Texas and Texas Tech will all be competing in the post season. The Huskers look to repeat as national champions.

Week in Review
Oklahoma won its last home match of the 2001 season over Iowa State (3-1) on Wednesday, Nov. 21. Junior Denise Griffin recorded a team-best 16 kills and added 14 digs to record her third double-double of the season. Setter Jessica Barney dished out a season-high 52 assists and added four kills, five digs, two block assists and one service ace in the victory. Alexia McWhinney hustled for a match-best and career-high 18 digs, while posting six kills. Christina Barlow recorded 12 kills and 10 digs while Logan Pierce registered 14 kills and 14 digs for her ninth double-double of the season. She also added a team-best three service aces.

The Sooners dropped their final match of the season to Texas, 3-0, in Austin. Pierce posted a team-best 11 kills and recorded a career and team-high .421 hitting clip. Griffin added eight digs to lead OU, while Gretchen French posted four blocks to lead the team.

Double-Doubles
Logan Pierce finished the season with nine double-doubles, her most recent a 14-kill, 14-dig effort in the Sooners' 3-1 win over Iowa State.

Jessica Barney landed seven double-doubles for the season, her final one a 16-dig, 23-assist effort against No. 2 Nebraska in Norman. Barney also tied a career-best five service aces in the 3-0 loss.

At the Sam Houston State Tournament, Christina Barlow recorded four double-doubles in five matches. Denise Griffin finished the year with three double-doubles, two against Iowa State and one at Nebraska. Lindsay Hoyt recorded one against KU with 10 kills and 15 digs.

Head Coach Kalani Mahi
In his second year as the Oklahoma Head Volleyball Coach, Kalani Mahi finished 3-30 overall and 2-18 in the Big 12 Conference. He is now 10-51 at Oklahoma. His most recent win was a 3-1victory over Iowa State on Nov. 21. Earlier 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 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.

Redshirting
Two freshmen, setter Leanne Chen and outside hitter Sheena Wherling, have elected to redshirt their freshman year. The two will be active members of the 2002 Sooner volleyball team.

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 Great 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 Conclude Season With One Win, One Loss :: Weekly News and notes on the Oklahoma volleyball team.

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