Volleyball Close But Can't Turn Tide Against Arkansas :: Oklahoma loses home opener in three sets to Lady'Backs.

	">Printer-Friendly Format ">E-mail this article Sophomore Candice Woods led Oklahoma with nine kills and .416 hitting percentage (9 K, 2 E, 17 TA)

Volleyball Close But Can't Turn Tide Against Arkansas

Oklahoma loses home opener in three sets to Lady'Backs.

Sept. 3, 2002

NORMAN, Okla. - Oklahoma volleyball battled Arkansas the entire way Tuesday night, but lost in three sets to the Lady'Backs, 30-20, 30-24 and 30-23 at the Howard McCasland Field House. Oklahoma fell to 0-4 with the home opener loss, while Arkansas improved to 4-0.

"Getting over the mental hump is the biggest issue for this team," said OU Head Coach Kalani Mahi. "Tonight we played our best game of the season, against the best team we have seen. They came back from a huge deficit tonight in the third game, which was great to see, but we need to learn how to put a team away when we have them on the ropes. Once that happens I think everything will fall into place and we'll become a highly successful team."

Oklahoma was led by sophomore Candice Woods, who had a team-high nine kills and .412 hitting percentage (9 K- 2E- 17TA). Senior Megan O'Connell and junior Christina Barlow also registered six kills apiece. Freshman libero Tara Birkinbine collected a match-high nine digs. Equally impressive were Barlow and O'Connell who each had seven digs.

Arkansas outhit the Sooners .263 (38-13-95) to .110 (33-22-100), thanks to kill totals of 13 and 10 by Ann Velikanova and Jennifer Haaser, respecitvely. For the fourth consecutive match, OU opponents recorded higher ace totals. Tonight the differential was 10 to 4.

"I saw no mercy in the girls' eyes tonight, we went right after them," said sophomore Gretchen French. "Our middles (blockers) were up and at it all night. A lot of other good signs came from this match. We improved across the board, we problem solved and our energy stayed high throughout."

Up next for Oklahoma is the annual alumni game, Saturday at 10 a.m., right before the football team kicks off its home slate against Alabama at 2:30 p.m. On the collegiate level, OU plays regional rival Oral Roberts at the Howard McCasland Field House next Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 7 p.m.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Volleyball Close But Can't Turn Tide Against Arkansas :: Oklahoma loses home opener in three sets to Lady'Backs.

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