Oklahoma Volleyball Begins Homestand With SMU :: Weekly news and notes on the Sooners.

Oklahoma Volleyball Begins Homestand With SMU :: Weekly news and notes on the Sooners. Oklahoma Volleyball Begins Homestand With SMU

Weekly news and notes on the Sooners.

	Sophomore Christina Barlow

Sept. 17, 2001

Norman, Okla.- All matches originally scheduled for last week were postponed due to the recent tragedies in the U.S. The matches with Texas A&M on Sept. 12 and Colorado on Sept. 15 were postponed. Rescheduling of these matches has not been announced.

A Look Ahead
The Sooners begin Big 12 Conference action on Wednesday at 7 p.m., against the No. 22 Kansas State Wildcats in Bramlage Coliseum.

Kansas State is 4-2 on the season. The Wildcats' two losses came to then- No. 5 Hawai'i and then-No. 7 UCLA. K-State is currently on a four-game winning streak heading into conference action. Liz Wegner leads the KSU offense with 117 kills (5.09 kpg) while Jenny Pollard is tops in digs with 77. At the net, Jayne Christen has a team-high 24 blocks (1.14 bpg). Oklahoma leads the all-time series over K-State 40-13-1.

The Sooners begin their homestand against SMU (3-4) on Saturday, Sept. 20, at 7 p.m. Oklahoma met SMU in 1974 in which the Mustangs won 2-0. Leading SMU this season on offense is Janna Newsom with 86 kills (3.35 kpg), a .322 hitting percentage and 27 blocks (1.04 bpg). Sara Warner has a team-high 73 digs (2.81 dpg) followed by Tara Hatfield with 72 (2.77 dpg).

Oklahoma opens Big 12 Conference play at home against Kansas at 7 p.m., Sept 22, at the OU Field House. KU is 8-0 to begin the week after winning its first two tournaments. The Sooners lead the all-time series over KU 36-18.

Leading the Jayhawks offensively is Sarah Rome with 92 kills (4.18 kpg) while Molly LaMere carries a .439 hitting percentage. Defensively, Danielle McHenry is tops in digs with 69 (3.14 dpg) and Jordan Garrison has 25 blocks (1.09 bpg).

Leading the Sooners
Leading the 2001 attack for the Sooners is sophomore Logan Pierce. Pierce has 63 kills on the season and averages 2.25 kpg. Junior Lindsay Hoyt is the team leader in digs with 68 (2.43 dpg) followed closely by Pierce with 67 (2.39 dpg) and sophomore Christina Barlow with 65 (2.32 dpg).

At the net, freshmen Alexia McWhinney and Candice Woods both have 20 blocks to top the team. Junior Jessica Barney is not far behind with 14 blocks while leading the team with 15 service aces. Barney also averages 9.07 assists per game with a total of 254 on the season.

Sooners Go 0-4 at Wyoming Cowgirl Classic
The Oklahoma volleyball team traveled to Laramie, Wyo., for the Cowgirl Classic on Sept. 7-8. Tournament host Wyoming took the title, winning all four of its matches. OU 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 followed by a 3-0 loss (30-27, 30-28, 31-29) to tournament host Wyoming. Griffin led OU with 12 kills while junior Lindsay 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). OU ended the tournament with a 3-0 loss to Idaho State (30-15, 30-22, 30-14). Freshman Emily Kincaid, playing in her third match of the season, matched Hoyt with a team high 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.

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

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

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

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 and sophomore outside hitter Logan Pierce to all-tournament honors at the Sam Houston State Tournament earlier this season.

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.

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.

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

Oklahoma Volleyball Begins Homestand With SMU :: Weekly news and notes on the Sooners.

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