Sooners Go 1-3 at Sam Houston State Tournament :: OU volleyball prepares for Wyoming Cowgirl Classic.

Sooners Go 1-3 at Sam Houston State Tournament :: OU volleyball prepares for Wyoming Cowgirl Classic. Sooners Go 1-3 at Sam Houston State Tournament

OU volleyball prepares for Wyoming Cowgirl Classic.

	The Sooners will play a total of four matches this Friday and Saturday at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic.

Sept. 5, 2001

The 2001 Oklahoma volleyball team opened its season at the Sam Houston State Tournament last weekend. OU opened the tournament with a 3-1 (30-19, 28-30, 30-24, 30-25) loss to Louisiana-Lafayette. Sophomore Christina Barlow led the Sooners with 11 kills and 15 digs. Sophomore Logan Pierce chipped in 10 kills and eight digs. Junior Lindsay Hoyt and junior Jessica Barney had 13 and 12 digs, respectively. Offensively, both teams were virtually even, but service errors by the Sooners cost the team 15 points.

The Sooners also played North Texas, the eventual tournament champions. Oklahoma took the Mean Green to five games before losing 30-23, 30-26, 25-30, 34-36, 15-7. Servie errors plagued the Sooners once again, costing them 18 points in the match. Offensively, the Sooners were strong with four players in double digits in kills. Barlow and Pierce had 13 and 14, respectively, while junior Denise Griffin had 13 kills and freshman Candice Woods had 10. Barney dished out a tournament-high 51 assists.

Oklahoma earned its first victory of the season against Texas A&M Corpus Christi, taking the match in a three-game sweep (31-29, 30-24, 30-27). The Sooners hit .317 as a team compared to the Islanders .161. Hoyt had 14 kills and zero errors on 29 attempts, hitting .483 for the match. Barlow had her third double-double of the tournament with 11 kills and 11 digs.

OU lost to Sam Houston State 3-1 (24-30, 30-21, 30-22, 30-24) to end the tournament. The Sooners hit a tournament-low .160. Pierce was the lone Sooner to break double digits in kills with 10, while recording a team-high 16 digs. Oklahoma had a tournament-high 12 blocks with Woods reaching for two block solos and three block assists.

Pierce Earns All-Tournament Honors
Sophomore outside hitter Logan Pierce was named to the Sam Houston State University All-Tournament team for her efforts in the Sooners' four matches.

Pierce had a tournament-high 16 digs against Sam Houston State and had a tournament and career-high 14 kills against North Texas. She also had a career-high three block solos against North Texas.

For the tournament, Pierce hit .210, averaging 2.5 kills per game. She tallied up 52 digs, averaging 3.25 per game.

A Look Ahead
The Sooners will look to improve their record at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic this weekend, Sept. 7-8, in Laramie, Wyo.

Oklahoma begins the tournament against Wake Forest, a team they have played only once, and that was back in 1998 when the Sooners took the match 3-1.

The second match is against host Wyoming. The Cowgirls lead the all-time series 2-1. The last match-up was Sept. 11, 1999 in Norman, in which Wyoming took the match in three games.

On Saturday, the Sooners go up against Texas-Arlington, a team that OU hasn't seen on the court since 1995. UTA won 3-1 and leads the all-time series 25-11.

The Sooners will face Idaho State for the first time in the final match of the tournament on Saturday.

Head Coach Kalani Mahi
Second-year Head Coach Kalani Mahi has his team off to a 1-3 start this year.. Mahi also coached sophomore outside hitter Logan Pierce to All-Tournament honors following the Sam Hosuton 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.

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 position at Winthrop College in Rock Hill, S.C.

Ivans' last coaching stint was as a graduate assistant at Wichita State University. He has also 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 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. Three Big 12 programs are ranked in the top 25 according to the USA Today/AVCA poll on Aug. 29. Nebraska, the defending national champion, is ranked No. 1 followed by Texas A&M and Kansas State at No. 18 and No. 19, respectively. Missouri, Colorado, Texas Tech 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

Sooners Go 1-3 at Sam Houston State Tournament :: OU volleyball prepares for Wyoming Cowgirl Classic.

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