OU Volleyball Postpones Wednesday's Home Opener :: Weekly news and notes on the Sooners.

OU Volleyball Postpones Wednesday's Home Opener :: Weekly news and notes on the Sooners. OU Volleyball Postpones Wednesday's Home Opener

Weekly news and notes on the Sooners.

	The Sooner volleyball team begins Big 12 play Saturday when it faces Colorado at 2 p.m. at the OU Field House.

Sept. 10, 2001

The Oklahoma volleyball team traveled to Laramie, Wyo., for the Cowgirl Classic last weekend going 0-4 over the two-day, five-team tournament. Tournament host Wyoming took the title, winning all four of its matches. Junior Denise Griffin received all-tournament honors for her efforts.

The Sooners opened with a 3-0 loss (30-26, 30-19, 30-13) to Wake Forest on Friday. Junior Lindsay Hoyt led OU with six kills while freshman Alexia McWhinney hit a career and team-high .308.

The Sooners then played tournament host Wyoming, dropping the match 3-0 (30-27, 30-28, 31-29). Griffin led OU with 12 kills while Hoyt had 10 kills and a team-high nine digs. Freshman Candice Woods had a team-high five blocks (one blocks solo, four block assists).

Oklahoma played Texas Arlington on Saturday, losing 3-0 (30-22, 30-21, 30-23). The Sooners stuggled offensively, hitting only .089 compared to the Mavericks .290. McWhinney led OU with eight kills while sophomore Christina Barlow had a team-high six digs.

OU ended the tournament with a 3-0 loss to Idaho State (30-15, 30-22, 30-14). The Sooners stuggled again offensively, hitting -.092. The Bengals had 11 service aces compared to OU's three. Hoyt led Oklahoma with five kills and seven digs while freshman Emily Kincaid, playing in her third match of the season, matched Hoyt with seven digs.

Griffin Earns All-Tournament Honors
Junior outside hitter Denise Griffin (Logan, Utah) was named to the 2001 Wyoming Cowgirl Classic All-Tournament team. Griffin played in three of the four matches with her best performance coming against tournament champion, Wyoming. Griffin had 12 kills, hitting .231. She also had five digs, three blocks and one service ace.

A Look Ahead
The Sooners Big 12 Conference opener on Sept. 12 with No. 16 Texas A&M has been postponed to an undetermined date. The match with Colorado at 2 p.m., Sept. 15, is still scheduled to be played.

Kincaid and French Make Season Debut
Freshman outside hitter Emily Kincaid and freshman middle blocker Gretchen French played in their first matches of the 2001 season at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic last weekend.

Kincaid had a season-high three kills against Texas Arlington and had seven digs and two service aces versus Idaho State.

Head Coach Kalani Mahi
Second-year Head Coach Kalani Mahi is now 1-7 on the season. Mahi coached junior outside hitter Denise Griffin to All-Tournament honors at the 2001 Wyoming Cowgirl Classic last weekend and sophomore outside hitter Logan Pierce to all-tournament honors at the Sam Houston State Tournament.

In his first year, Mahi led the team to a 7-21 overall finish. With only four returning letterwinners and six new faces, the young team faces a tough challenge in Big 12 Conference action.

Mahi looks to continue excellence in academics with this year's squad. Last year, Mahi's student-athletes recorded their highest grade point average in recent years with a 3.18 in the fall semester and a 3.26 in the spring.

No stranger to success on the court, Mahi headed up successful programs at both Bradley and Illinois State. He has also played competitively indoor and outdoor and has been a part of teams that have finished fifth and seventh in the USA Volleyball Open National Indoor Championships.

French appeared in the matches against Wake Forest and Texas Arlington.

Ivans Joins Sooner Coaching Staff
Joining OU's coaching staff this season is California native Josh Ivans. Ivans fills the shoes of the assistant position vacated by Joel McCartney, who took the head coaching job at Winthrop College in Rock Hill, S.C. Ivans' last coaching stint was as a graduate assistant at Wichita State. He coached at his alma mater, Graceland College (Iowa). He played volleyball there from 1994-1998 and coached the women's team from 1996-1999. He also worked as a youth camp instructor at the USA Volleyball National Development Camps.

A Glance Back
The 2000 OU volleyball squad finished in 10th place in the Big 12 with a 2-10 conference record and a 7-21 overall mark. The Sooners started the season strong with five victories, a first in the history of the volleyball program, and a tournament championship at the Lamar Cardinal Classic. Cathy Cook earned most valuable player honors at the middle blocker position.

After a 5-0 start, the Sooners earned only two more victories in 2000, both coming against Iowa State.

The Competition
The 2001 schedule is a tough one, just as all the schedules are when a team is a member of the Big 12 Conference. Five Big 12 programs are ranked in the top 25 according to the USA Today/AVCA poll on Sept. 3. Nebraska, the defending national champion, is ranked No. 1 followed by Texas A&M and Kansas State at No. 18 and No. 22, respectively, and Colorado and Texas at No. 23 and 25, respectively. Missouri and Baylor also received points in the poll. Nebraska was picked to win the Big 12 and the national championship for the second consecutive year.

Remaining non-conferenece opponents include Wake Forest, Wyoming, Texas-Arlington and Idaho State at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic where Idaho State and OU will begin their series history on Sept. 8. The Sooners will also take on Middle Tennessee State, Wichita State and Southwest Missouri State at the Mary Jo Wynn Invitational in Springfield, Mo.

OU Field House: Home of Sooner Volleyball
The University of Oklahoma Field House, home of OU volleyball, is currently going through several renovations. As part of Greater Expectations: The Campaign for Sooner Sports, the 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

OU Volleyball Postpones Wednesday's Home Opener :: Weekly news and notes on the Sooners.

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors