Volleyball Heads To No. 20 Texas A&M

NORMAN, Okla. -- The Oklahoma volleyball team (8-7, 0-7 Big 12) hopes to snap out of its recent funk with a Wednesday road trip to No. 20 Texas A&M (8-5, 4-3). First serve for the Sooners and Aggies is set for 7 p.m. at the notoriously loud G. Rolie White Coliseum.

Texas A&M has been ranked as high as No. 12 in the AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll this season. The Aggies have posted impressive wins over then-No. 8 Cal and then-No. 24 Kansas.

The Aggies survived a difficult stretch last week with a 1-1 record. After needing five games to hold off Texas Tech at home, the Aggies were defeated in four games at Missouri. The Aggies have only lost once at home this season, a three-game sweep at the hands of then-No. 3 UCLA.

A&M is led by junior outside hitter Laura Jones. Jones is averaging 4.45 kills (No. 3 in Big 12), 2.48 digs and 0.73 digs per game. Jones struggled in two matches against OU last season. She had 11 kills over seven games against OU.

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Junior Kari Kelley is running the A&M offense on her own after sharing the duties in a 6-2 system last season. The departure of Lexi Beers (back injury) has put the responsibility on Kelley's shoulders. Kelley is averaging 11.26 assists per game, which ranks eighth in the Big 12.

Another formidable front line force for A&M is Melissa Munsch. Munsch is averaged 3.55 kills per game at middle blocker while swinging at a .319 clip.

OU has not defeated Texas A&M since 1979. A&M leads the all-time series 28-1. In 2003 the Sooners went four games at College Station and were swept at home in front of an OU record crowd of 3,162.

The Sooners will resume the home portion of their Big 12 schedule on Saturday when Colorado (10-5, 5-3) comes to the Howard McCasland Field House. Colorado is sitting just outside the AVCA Top 25 Poll and would rank No. 34 if the list were extended.

First serve between the Sooners and Buffaloes is set for 7 p.m. and will be followed by an autograph session.

KEY MATCHUP
OU setter Julie Chester
vs.
A&M setter Kari Kelley

Stats
Chester - 0.18 KPG, 8.0 APG, 1.82 DPG
Kelley - 0.35 KPG, 11.26 APG, 2.19 DPG

Breakdown
Both setters are in a position they didn't foresee before preseason training camp. Kari Kelley teamed with Lexi Beers to lead the Aggie offense to assist records in 2003. Beers was forced to end her collegiate career after a back injury and the Aggies scrapped the 6-2 offense they ran last year.

Chester began the season in a 6-2 system with sophomore Rachel Jackson. OU head coach Santiago Restrepo felt the team needed her leadership qualities on the court and has given her the reins for the last two matches.

The setter who can run a the quickest and most efficient offense will give its team a leg up in the Wednesday night match.

HALL OF FAME BOUND
Oklahoma volleyball head coach Santiago Restrepo will be inducted into the 26th edition of the East Stroudsburg University Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 23. Restrepo is being awarded with ESU's highest athletics honor for his accomplishments as a volleyball player and coach for the Warriors.

Restrepo was an All-American and four-time All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference player from 1983-86. Following a professional volleyball career, Restrepo returned to East Stroudsburg and compiled a 75-32 record as the head coach of both the men's and women's volleyball teams.

“Its an honor and a privilege,” said Restrepo. “ I have to thank everyone involved in the selection process, which includes professors, administrators and coaches. I also have to thank my old coach, Robert Sweeney. His guidance, support and leadership are the reasons I am being inducted. This award is as much a credit to him, as it is to me.”

The induction ceremony will take place during halftime of the homecoming football game and will be followed by a banquet. Restrepo will be unable to attend his induction because the Sooners will be playing at Iowa State on the same day.

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 leading the team with a .318 hitting percentage. She was among the top-10 in the Big 12 in the category as recently as Oct. 1, which marked 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 13 matches. She is also putting up a solid block that is stuffing 0.98 balls per game. Excluding service aces - since she doesn't normally 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 of the last 11 matches, during which time she has averaged 3.17 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 3.17) and digs (0.86 to 1.22). She has also bumped her hitting percentage up 15 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.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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