Red River Rivalry Hits Volleyball Court

NORMAN, Okla. -- The road isn't going to get any easier for the Oklahoma volleyball team. In fact its only going to get more difficult. With ranked opponents waiting in five of the next six matches, the Sooners are facing a steep challenge. The next obstacle may be the most intriguing. The first installation of the Red River Rivalry, volleyball style, is set to go down at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday in Austin.

The Texas Longhorns (12-0, 3-0 Big 12) are one of six undefeated teams remaining in the AVCA Top-25 Coaches Poll and are proving to be conference championship contenders. On Wednesday they went to No. 5 Florida and knocked off the Gators in four games. It was the first time in 46 home matches that Florida had lost.

It was only the third time this season that Texas had dropped a single game in 27 tries. Texas has been downright dominate from the beginning of the season.

Unfortunately, for the Sooners the Longhorns have also been dominate in the all-time series. OU has lost every one of their 24 meetings with the Longhorns, dating back to 1975.

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Statistically the Longhorns lead the Big 12 in hitting percentage (.342) and aces (1.9 per game), while ranking second in opponent hitting percentage (.125) and fourth in assists (14.62) and kills (16.1).

Individually Mira Topic leads the conference with 5.28 kills per game. Topic is also 10th in hitting percentage at .351, which is seven spots behind No. 3 attacker Bethany Howden, who is hitting .399 and putting-away 4.22 kills per game.

The Sooners showed a renewed confidence against No. 15 Kansas State on Wednesday night. The coaching staff was especially encouraged by the effort and hopes to see the same attitude in Austin on Saturday.

“That is the best we've played all season,” commented OU head coach Santiago Restrepo. “We didn't come out tentative and were able to level the field. If we would have played with that same confidence in our first three conference matches we would have won.”

Restrepo added, “This team took a step forward despite the loss. We haven't taken a game from a ranked team in conference since 1999. We did that tonight and so on enough it will be two games and then a match. We just need to continue to build and improve.”

The four game defeat was significant because it marked the first time that OU had taken a game from a ranked team since the 2003-opener against Washington State. As Restrepo mentioned, the last time OU took a game from a ranked Big 12 team was against Kansas State in 1999.

VETERAN LEADERSHIP
The one bright spot for OU during its recent slide has been the steady improvement of senior Keri Coats and junior-transfer Gabriela Tonon.

Coats is seventh in the Big 12 and leads the team with a .358 hitting percentage. It marks the first time in the last five seasons that OU has had a player in the top-10 in hitting percentage after two weeks of Big 12 play. She has collected 10 or more kills in nine of the last 10 matches. She is also putting up a solid block that is stuffing 1.04 balls per game. Excluding service aces - since she doesn't serve this season - her numbers are up across the board from 2003.

Tonon, who transferred from Hutchinson Community College, was the last recruit to sign in 2003 but she has had the biggest impact. Tonon has topped double-digits in kills in eight consecutive outings, during which time she has averaged 3.5 per game. A comparison of her first four matches (UTPA Invitational) to the last eight outings, shows that Tonon has nearly double her production in kills (1.57 to 3.5) and digs (0.86 to 1.5). She has also bumped her hitting percentage up 55 points during that stretch.

The veteran duo is going to be relied upon heavily if the Sooners are going to make a run in the Big 12 conference. If the others follow their lead on the court, the win column will certainly benefit.

THAT DIDN'T TAKE LONG
It only took 44 matches for sophomore Joanna Schmitt to set a new OU rally-scoring career kills record. She surpassed 2003 graduate Christina Maynes with an 18-kill performance against Kansas State and stands alone at the top with 685. She is also closing in on second place in rally-scoring digs. Currently she is 17 behind 2002 graduate Denise Griffin with 444 digs. Below is a complete look at current players on the OU career lists:

CAREER KILLS
1. Joanna Schmitt	685	2003-present
2. Christina Maynes	679	2000-03
3. Candice Woods	437	2001-02
4. Sheena Werling	395	2002-present
5. Logan Pierce	342	2001
6. Keri Coats	333	2003-present
7. Megan O'Connell	289	2002
8. Jennifer Adams	294	2002-present

ASSISTS
1. Jessica Barney	1,909	2001-02
2. Rachel Jackson	1,441	2003-present
3. Kelly McCarter	381	2003

ACES
1. Jessica Barney	73	2001-02
2. Joanna Schmitt	51	2003-present
3. Christina Maynes	50	2000-03
4. Keri Coats	35	2003-present

DIGS
1. Christina Maynes	621	2000-03
2. Denise Griffin	461	2001-02
3. Joanna Schmitt	444	2003-present
4. Jessica Barney	443	2001-02
5. Yvette Villanueva	386	2002-03
6. Lindsay Hoyt	328	2001-02
7. Rachel Jackson	315	2003-present

BLOCK ASSISTS
1. Jennifer Adams	180	2002-present
2. Candice Woods	146	2001-02
3. Keri Coats	126	2003-present
4. Laura Tomes	116	2003-present
5. Jennifer Mosso	79	2002-present

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Red River Rivalry Hits Volleyball Court

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