Angry Felines In Sooners' Path :: OU Volleyball Faces KSU Wildcats and No. 23 Missouri Tigers this week

	">Printer-Friendly Format ">E-mail this article Freshman Jennifer Mosso has moved into the starting lineup and produced solid numbers at the middle blocker position.

Angry Felines In Sooners' Path

OU Volleyball Faces KSU Wildcats and No. 23 Missouri Tigers this week

Oct. 7, 2002

Angry Felines In Sooners Path

Oklahoma played well at points last week, at others they struggled. The up and down play resulted in tough losses to No. 25 Texas A&M and Colorado. Against Colorado, OU battled back from a 2-0 deficit for just the second time this season, only to lose the fourth and deciding game. With No. 20 Missouri and No. 5 Nebraska on the horizon, OU needs to build some momentum against a Kansas State team that is struggling compared to recent years. Wednesday night's match against KSU is Hispanic Heritage night, with the first 100 fans receiving free sombreros.

Kansas State and Oklahoma look like mere images of each other as they square off Wednesday night inside the Howard McCasland Field House. Kansas State has beaten Baylor and Iowa State, as did OU. Kansas State was defeated by Texas, same for OU. Where they differ, is that Kansas State is coming off a marathon five game victory over Texas Tech this past weekend, while the Sooners were bounced by Colorado in four games.

Sophomore setter Gabby Guerre is the Wildcats most versatile and dangerous player. She is currently fourth in the Big 12 in hitting percentage and seventh in assists. Other key contributors are senior ouside hitter Jennifer Pollard and junior outside hitter Cari Jensen. Pollard averages 3.0 kills per game and is currently seventh in the Big 12 with 3.15 digs per game. Jensen averages a team-high 3.22 kills per game.

"The Colorado match came down to consistency again," said OU Head Coach Kalani Mahi. "We were good in games two and three against CU and inconsistent in games one and four. We have to improve in this area before we play Kansas State because they are a team that makes very few errors. They put the pressure on you defensively by keeping the ball in play. We'll need efficient ball control to win."

Saturday OU travels to Columbia, Mo. to battle Missouri. The Tigers were defeated Saturday by the same Texas Tech squad that knocked off KSU earlier in the week. Leading into the contest Mizzou had run off 12 consecutive victories. The Tigers are led by former National Player of the Week Mary Lauren Smith who is eighth in league in kills. Freshman Shen Danru is fifth in the Big 12 in aces, she also ranks sixth in points and digs.

Oklahoma Notes - OU leads the all-time series with KSU 40-15-1, although the Wildcats have won six consecutive matches.

- OU leads the all-time series with Mizzou 32-18, but the Tigers have won four straight match es.- No. 25 Texas A&M was the first ranked opponent OU has faced.

- In the next week and a half they face No. 20 Missouri and No. 5 Nebraska.

- On the season OU has four games with 20 plus block assists, most recently against Colorado

- Two of OU athletes rank in the top 10 statistically among Big 12 individuals. Jessica Barney is seventh in aces and 10th in assists. Candice Woods is eighth in blocks.

- During Big 12 play, Sooners are in the top 10 of five major statistical categories. Candice Woods is fourth in hitting percentage, Jessica Barney is eighth in assists and third in aces, Jennifer Mosso is seventh in blocks and Denise Griffin is ninth in digs.

- OU ranks third in service aces (31), in Big 12 play.

Player Notes

Jennifer Adams- Freshman has been limited due to injured right knee.

Christina Barlow - Pounded out double digits in kills in five of the last seven contests.

Jessica Barney - 44 assists against Colorado was second highest total of season.

Tara Birkinbine - Defensive specialist had six digs against Colorado.

Leanne Chen - Backup setter spelled Barney late in Colorado match.

Gretchen French - Had a season-high five kills against Loyola Marymount on Aug. 31.

Denise Griffin - Continues solid transition to libero with 11 digs against CU.

Lindsay Hoyt - Contributes from back row, outside and as serving specialist this season.

Emily Kincaid - Saw first action since EGOG Invite, in game four against Colorado.

Megan O'Connell - Despite slow start, O'Connell has eight or more kills in 11 matches.

Jennifer Mosso - Another outstanding performance for freshman as she had 10 kills and seven block assists at CU.

Yvette Villanueva - Statistical anomaly, played in all four games at CU but recorded no stats.

Sheena Werling - Consistent against Texas A&M with four kills off the bench.

Candice Woods - Despite battling a pulled quadriceps, Woods has put away eight kills in the last two matches.

Smooth Transition

Senior Denise Griffin was Oklahoma's most consistent returning spiker from last season, when she averaged just under two kills per game. In her senior campaign she was expected to anchor the Sooners from the outside hitter position, instead she was moved to libero six matches into the 2003 season. With the logjam at outside hitter and the dramatic improvement of Christina Barlow and Sheena Werling, the transition was needed in order to have the best six players on the court at all times.

Griffin made the switch from a offenisive player to defensive back row specialist almost effortlessly. Her output in digs has been in the double digits in six of the eight contests since the move and she continues to improve.

"Denise comes from one of the best JUCO volleyball areas in the country, "said OU Head Coach Kalani Mahi. "The level of competition she faced in Utah prepared her for this transistion. She has always been one of our best passers and a team leader. She is really improving her angles and recognition. I fully expect her digs total to rise every game from here on out."

Head Coach Kalani Mahi

Oklahoma head coach Kalani Mahi is in his third year at the helm of an accomplished Sooner volleyball program and hopes are high for success in the very near future. Mahi returned five starters and seven letterwinners from last year's team. He also welcomed five freshmen (2 redshirt) and two upperclass transfers into the Sooner program.

Coach Mahi is assisted by his wife, Christy Mahi and Josh Ivans. All three have ties to their alma mater, Graceland College, where each got their start in volleyball at the collegiate level.

No stranger to success on the court, Mahi headed up successful programs at both Bradley (1995-97 as head coach & 92-94 as assistant) and Illinois State (1998-99). 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 Closer Look At The Kansas State Wildcats

Head Coach Suzie Fritz- The former top assistant coach for Jim McLaughlin from 1997-2000, Fritz was named the program's interim head coach on August 1, 2001, just a day after the resignation of McLaughlin and mere days before the players were to report for start of fall practice. Despite facing the task of replacing two starters and playing one of the nation's toughest schedules, including two 2000 Final Four teams, Fritz posted the highest winning percentage (20-8, .714) by a first-year head coach in school history, surpassing the .686 winning percentage tallied by Ron Spies in 1979. In addition to tallying 20 wins for the third straight season, she helped the program to a school record 15 wins in Big 12 Conference play and a third-place finish. In a conference that sent a NCAA-record eight teams to the "Big Dance", the Wildcats swept the season series from a school-best six conference opponents, including NCAA Tournament teams Baylor, Missouri and Texas.

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Gabby Guerre- Sophomore setter Gabby Guerre continues to show her tremendous all around ability as a volleyball player, as she has collected double-doubles in four of the last seven matches, including all three matches at the USF Invitational on Sept. 13-14. She saw her streak of four straight double-doubles end on Sept. 21 at Baylor, but she still displayed her tremendous abilities with six kills on .667 hitting to go with 30 assists, two service aces and six blocks. She narrowly missed her sixth double-double of the season on Sept. 28, in her 32-assist, nine-dig effort against Texas.

A Closer Look At The Missouri Tigers MIssouri Head Coach Susan Kreklow- Missouri head coach Susan Kreklow is the winningest active coach among Division I volleyball coaches. Kreklow's winning percentage of .830 is the best among active coaches with at least five years of coaching experience. She is also second in total wins among active coaches with 514 in her career. These numbers reflect her records as the head coach of the Missouri and Columbia College women's volleyball teams. She also coached the Columbia College men's team for three season. When those records are added in, she has a combined record of 567-129.

SMITH GARNERS NATIONAL ACCOLADE- Missouri junior Mary Lauren Smith was selected as the AVCA/Sports Imports National Player of the Week on Monday for her performances last week against Texas A&M and Colorado. Smith is the first Missouri player ever to receive this honor. The Atlanta, Ga. resident, posted back-to-back 20-kill matches last week to lead MU to victories over No. 20 Texas A&M and No. 23 Colorado. Smith had a hitting percentage of .432 against the Buffaloes and hit .394 against the Aggies for a .414 hitting percentage. She also averaged 4.44 kills per game on the week. Smith currently leads Missouri with a 3.98 kills per game average on the year and has a hitting percentage of .311. Additionally, she has recorded 23 total blocks for the season.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Angry Felines In Sooners' Path :: OU Volleyball Faces KSU Wildcats and No. 23 Missouri Tigers this week

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