Volleyball Team Set For Season Opener Friday Night :: Oklahoma faces Duke, Bradley and host Loyola Marymount in the LMU Invitational.

	">Printer-Friendly Format ">E-mail this article Head Volleyball Coach Kalani Mahi and the Sooners will travel to Los Angeles, Calif. this weekend to kickoff the 2002 season in the Loyola Marymount Invitational.

Volleyball Team Set For Season Opener Friday Night

Oklahoma faces Duke, Bradley and host Loyola Marymount in the LMU Invitational.

Aug. 28, 2002

NORMAN, Okla. -

Oklahoma begins its 2002 volleyball season Friday, Aug. 30 at 5 p.m (CDT), in Los Angeles, Calif., against Duke in the Loyola Marymount Invitational, held in LMU's Gersten Pavilion. On Saturday, OU plays host Loyola Marymount at noon and Bradley at 5 p.m. Duke (23-5) and LMU (15-10) both reached the NCAA Tournament last season, while Bradley (24-8) finished third in the Missouri Valley Conference.

"We are excited that 11 of the teams we face this season were considered for the AVCA Top 25," said Head Coach Kalani Mahi. "As a coach you always want a tough schedule, because it challenges your team. This season we're ready, especially since many people are overlooking us."

Oklahoma struggled last season finishing just 3-30. Changes were needed and the Sooners underwent an overhaul during the offseason, bringing in seven newcomers. Many will have an immediate impact. Coupled with seven returnees OU, has depth and experience for the first time in recent history.

The biggest addition for Oklahoma is 6-4 senior transfer Megan O'Connell (Springfield, Ill.), who should start on the outside and lead the offensive attack. She was a second-team All-Missouri Valley Conference pick the last two seasons while at Illinois State. Freshmen Jennifer Adams and Jennifer Mosso also should get plenty of playing time on the outside or at middle blocker.

The biggest change this offseason may have been NCAA imposed. This year the NCAA women's game has added the libero position, like the men's game did two years ago. The libero is a defensive specialist, who plays only on the back line and can rotate in without counting as a substitution.

Oklahoma went out and recruited a libero, Tara Birkinbine (Geneva, Ill.) who was one of the best players on the club and high school level while playing for Sports Performance and Rosary High.

Up first for the Sooners are the Duke Blue Devils. The Blue Devils advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Key returnees to the 2002 squad are All-Atlantic Coast Conference team members Josie Weymann and Krista Dill.

Weymann, a senior, was first-team All-ACC and likely will start as the team's libero. Dill, a junior, led the Blue Devils in hitting and blocks and should start in the middle. After finishing last season just outside the AVCA Top 25 the Blue Devils find themselves there again, having received 36 votes in the most recent poll.

The LMU Lions looks to be the strongest team in the field as they return two first-team West Coast Conference players.

Senior outside hitter Kristen Gallup led the 2001 Lions in kills with 4.81 per game, which ranked her 15th nationally. She also led the Lions in attacks (1,155) and was second on the team in digs (262).

Kaelani Kimball, a junior, could line up next to Gallup as an outside hitter or shift over and play middle blocker. As a sophomore last season, Kimball ranked second on the Lions in attacks, kills, solo blocks, and total blocks, while leading the team in block assists.

Oklahoma's final game of the tournament is against the Bradley Braves. The Braves' bubble burst last season when they failed to win the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and were not invited to the NCAA's despite a 24-8 overall record and a 14-4 MVC finish. Senior attacker Stephanie Behrns was a first-team all-conference selection last season and was a preseason pick this year. Behrns led the Braves in kills and total attacks in 2001 and needs just 183 kills in 2002 to rank eighth all time at Bradley.

This weekend will mark the first time the Sooners have faced all three teams.

The Sooners open their home schedule at McCasland Field House, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m., against regional rival Arkansas. OU also takes to the Field House court on Sept. 7 at 10 a.m. for their annual alumni game, which begins right before the football home opener against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Volleyball Team Set For Season Opener Friday Night :: Oklahoma faces Duke, Bradley and host Loyola Marymount in the LMU Invitational.

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