2003 Volleyball Season Preview :: New found depth and experience should key the Sooners success this season.

	">Printer-Friendly Format ">E-mail this article Gretchen French and the 2002 Sooners hope to start quickly, beginning this weekend at the Loyola Marymount Invitational in Los Angeles, Calif.

2003 Volleyball Season Preview

New found depth and experience should key the Sooners success this season.

Aug. 27, 2002

Norman, Okla.- Kalani Mahi came to the University of Oklahoma nearly three years ago with a plan. Highly successful as both a player and a coach at every previous stop, he had visions of restoring the Sooner volleyball program to its rightful place among the nation's elite. After two trying seasons of laying the groundwork for his plan, Mahi finally believes his team will have the depth, talent and experience necessary to compete not only in the rugged Big 12 Conference, but on the national scene as well. He is excited about the team's prospects for the 2002 season and believes this will be an important one in re-establishing OU as a perennial contender.

"This will the first year since we've been here that we're going to very deep at each position," said Mahi. "I'm very excited about the upcoming season. What we've been trying to build here is a national-caliber program and I think this season will be a major step in that direction. We'll be very deep and there will be competitive situations all over the court. The majority of our team stayed on campus over the summer and they've done a great job conditioning and working out. They've prepared themselves both physically and mentally for a great 2002 season."

The Sooners have five starters returning from last year's team, which should provide a solid core group. In particular, the squad's three seniors, setter Jessica Barney and outside hitters Denise Griffin and Lindsay Hoyt, have been through the battles and will serve as Mahi's eyes and ears on the court. Junior Christina Barlow and sophomore Candice Woods were major contributors a year ago, as were sophomores Gretchen French and Emily Kincaid.

Redshirt freshman setter Leanne Chen, outside hitter Sheena Werling and five newcomers will look to earn playing time in an already-deep rotation. Six-foot-one California native Jennifer Adams comes to OU from one of the top volleyball programs in the nation and Jennifer Mosso, of Mesquite, Texas, brings size, athleticism and experience to the Sooner fold. In addition, Tara Birkinbine is the first recruited libero in OU history, as the back-row, defensive position makes its debut in women's collegiate volleyball this year.

Setters

Senior Jessica Barney enters her second season as OU's starting setter and she will look to quarterback the Oklahoma offense and lead the club. In 2001, Barney led the club in both assists (1,014) and service aces (43) and was second on the team in digs (242) and in double-doubles (seven). One of Barney's best performances came against then-No. 2 Nebraska, when she racked up 23 assists and 16 digs. Mahi and his coaching staff expect Barney to again run the team's "five-one" offensive set and serve as the team's leader in a variety of statistical categories.

Leanne Chen will be a redshirt freshman and after improving technically by leaps and bounds as a freshman, she had an impressive spring season and is poised to earn playing time in a reserve role. Chen is a physical presence and has the capability to play the front court for the Sooners.

"The setting position will be critical for us," said Mahi. "The ability of Jessica and Leanne to mix our offense up will be a key factor in our success. We try to run a multi-dimensional offense, not just a one-dimensional attack, so that we can keep the defenses on the heels. We are confident that both of them can do great things for us."

Outside Hitters

A trio of experienced outside hitters return for the Sooners, highlighted by seniors Denise Griffin and Lindsay Hoyt. After transferring to Oklahoma from Eastern Utah Community College prior to the 2001 season, Griffin burst onto the scene and in addition to being named Defensive Player of the Year, she earned team MVP honors for her stellar play. She registered 186 kills, 20 service aces, 215 digs and had a hitting percentage of .153, among the team leaders in each of those categories.

Hoyt has been with Mahi and assistant coach Christy Mahi the longest of any Sooner, coming with the husband-wife coaching tandem from Illinois State after her freshman season. A year ago, the Grapevine, Texas, native tallied 161 kills, 234 digs and 43 blocks. She will be looked upon as a leader both on and off the court.

Junior Christina Barlow will also be a major contributor on the outside, building on the experience she gained playing in every game for the Sooners last season. Barlow was fourth on the club with 182 kills and 1.67 kills per game. Also in the mix on the outside will be sophomore Emily Kincaid, redshirt freshman Sheena Werling and junior transfer Yvette Villanueva. Kincaid had 20 service aces last season and was 54 blocks, second on the team.

"The outside hitting position is one of our deepest, without a doubt," said Mahi. "Lindsay Hoyt is returning as a senior and she played quite a bit for us last season. We're hoping Denise Griffin comes back healthy and Christina Barlow is probably the strongest player on the team. We've been working on her mental focus and her ability to handle situations on the court. Emily Kincaid is coming off of two knee surgeries and should be back by preseason. Sheena Werling went through her redshirt year last year and is probably our best athlete. I thought she made us a very different team when was on the court this past spring. Yvette Villanueva will be joining us this fall and we're looking for her to bring solid skills."

Middle Blockers

Candice Woods made quite an impression during her freshman year, garnering a great deal of playing time in the middle and earning the team's Sooner Strength Award. She led the team with a hitting percentage of .189 and her 93 blocks were also a team high. She placed second on the club with 208 kills and, with a year of experience under her belt, looks to be a major force to be reckoned with in 2002.

Gretchen French also saw significant court time in the middle as a freshman, racking up 54 blocks. The late transfer of senior Megan O'Connell, from Illinois State, should provide some much needed veteran experience. The two freshmen Jennifers, Adams and Mosso, both of whom 6-1, will provide depth at the position.

"Last season, we had a lot of injuries to our middle blockers, but everyone is healthy now and we're excited about our depth," said Mahi. "We should have four valuable middle blockers fighting for those two positions. That's where we want to be. Candice Woods started for us all season long last year and honestly did a lot more than any normal freshman would do and still made a lot of improvement in the spring. Gretchen French was also solid as a freshman, and with the two freshmen, we should be in pretty good shape."

Libero

The libero position will be making its first appearance in the world of collegiate volleyball this season and in freshman Tara Birkinbine, OU seems primed to take full advantage of the new position's benefits. A libero is a full-time defensive player who does not count as a substitution. The libero can come in at any time, for any back row player, so defensive prowess is extremely valuable.

"This year will be the first time I coach the libero position since this is the first year of the rule," said Mahi. "The areas where we really want to improve are our ball control and our defense and Tara definitely brings that to the table. We have some other ball control players on the team, so it will definitely help me in making defensive decisions."

Schedule

As is the case virtually every year for all members of the Big 12 Conference, the schedule is loaded with talented, powerful opponents. The Big 12 sent eight of its 11 teams to the NCAA Tournament in 2001, more than any other conference in the nation. Both Texas and Nebraska have won national titles and many other conference schools are striving toward similar goals. Oklahoma will play each of the other 10 conference teams once at home and once on the road in 2002.

The Sooners open the 2002 season at the Loyola Marymount Tournament, featuring host LMU, Duke and Bradley. OU will also take part in a tournament hosted by Tulsa, which will include Grambling State and Louisiana-Monroe. Southeastern Conference power Arkansas will visit Norman on Sept. 3 and regional rival Oral Roberts will also invade the McCasland Field House on September 10.

"It will be a fun season and we will be very challenged with our out-of-conference schedule and, of course, the Big 12 slate," said Mahi. "The Loyola Marymount tournament will be a very strong one, since LMU and Duke are so tough. Bradley will also be there and I coached there for six years. We know them and you always want to beat the school you were at before. The Tulsa tournament will also be tough. We are hoping to gel as a team and be ready to compete once the conference schedule starts."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

2003 Volleyball Season Preview :: New found depth and experience should key the Sooners success this season.

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