Tough Week Ahead For Volleyball

Oklahoma's volleyball season is down to just four remaining matches and they don't get any tougher than the next two opponents. OU (11-14, 3-13 Big 12) travels to No. 20 Kansas State (17-8,11-5) for a Wednesday match at the Ahearn Field House, which is arguably the toughest place to play in the Big 12. Then the Sooners return to Norman to face No. 3 Nebraska (23-1, 16-0) and their undefeated Big 12 record on Saturday evening.

OU will have to rebound from a tough road outing at Colorado if they hope to pull out a win in Manhattan. Kansas State defeated OU in four games on Sept. 29 in Norman and enters the second meeting having won six of its last eight.

In the first meeting senior O-Zone Live Video | Complete Match Notes

KSU's offense is led by outside hitter Valie Hejjas. Hejjas is averaging 3.76 kills per game while hitting at a .271 clip. Senior middle blocker Lisa Martin is putting away 2.59 kills per game while leading the Wildcats with a .360 offensive percentage.

Freshman Angie Lastra may be the most dependable player on the KSU roster. Lastra is third in the Big 12 with 4.17 digs per game. She is a key component in the K-State scheme that centers on defense and passing first.

Senior setter Gabby Guerre was able to spread the wealth in the first meeting. Five Wildcats tallied 10 or more kills with outside Sandy Werner topping the group with 15.

OU leads the all-time series with Kansas State 40-20-1 but hasn't been successful since 1998, a span of 11 matches.

The weekend tilt with the highly-ranked Huskers is scheduled for Saturday at 7 p.m. Saturday is also fan appreciation night with the first 300 fans receiving free OU t-shirts to go along with free O' and U' foam letters.

As usual admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children. The doors open at 6 p.m.

KEY MATCH UP
OU middle blocker Anna Stadel
vs.
Kansas State middle blocker Lisa Martin

Stats
Stadel - 1.87 KPG, .230 %, 1.34 BPG
vs.
Martin - 2.59 KPG, .360 %, 1.41 BPG

Breakdown
The challenge for OU freshman Anna Stadel is a big one this Wednesday. Lisa Martin is one of the best middle blockers in the conference and she might be the best that doesn't reside in Lincoln.

Stadel on the other hand is a freshman, who has shown tremendous potential for OU this season. Potential or not, her average of 1.34 blocks per game is impressive, especially considering all but 10 of her blocks have come during the rugged Big 12 season. If Stadel, who has averaged 1.63 BPG over the last five, can roof a few balls early it should provide a much needed spark for OU.

Martin, who receives the third most sets on her team, will bang away at Stadel and fellow middle blocker Laura Tomes. It will be crucial that the duo makes her life difficult and forces the ball outside.

ACADEMIC HONORS
Six Oklahoma volleyball players were named to the Academic All-Big 12 First and Second Teams on Tuesday afternoon. Sophomores Rachel Jackson and Laura Tomes, along with senior Keri Coats and junior Sheena Werling headlined the first team. Sophomores Anna Monsen and Joanna Schmitt were named to the second team.

Werling, a marketing major, was also a member of the first team last season. The other five student-athletes made the teams during their first year of eligibility for the recognition.

“I am very proud of these student-athletes for excelling in the classroom,” said OU head coach Santiago Restrepo. “It's a testament to their hard work and dedication outside of the gym. They are a wonderful representatives of this program.”

Nominated by each institution's director of student-athlete support services and the media relations offices, the volleyball academic all-league squad consisted of 37 first team members combined with 15 on the second team. First-team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better GPA, while the second team are those who have a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA.

To qualify student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher either cumulative or in each of the two previous semesters while participating in 60 percent of her team's scheduled contests. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic residence. Senior student-athletes who have participated for a minimum of two years and meet all the criteria except percent of participation are eligible.

Last season OU had four student-athletes eligible for the award and all four garnered the academic honor.

RESTREPO LURES JC ALL-AMERICAN
The Oklahoma volleyball team announced the signing of Eliane Santos to a National Letter of Intent on Oct. 12. Santos is a 6-2 middle blocker for the College of Southern Idaho and will transfer from the junior college ranks to OU in the fall of 2005.

The excitement around the signing of the Rio de Janeiro, Brazil native couldn't be any higher within the program. Santos, who was a second team NJCAA All-American in 2003, is widely considered one of best players at the junior college level. CSI, which has won seven of the last 11 NJCAA national championships, is currently ranked No. 3 in the NJCAA Poll and has a 40-3 record.

Santos, currently a sophomore for CSI, has led the charge for the Golden Eagles. She is averaging 4.07 kills per game while hitting at .375 clip. She also is tallying 2.52 digs, 0.48 aces and 1.35 blocks per game. She leads the Scenic West Athletic Conference (SWAC) in kills, while ranking third in hitting percentage, third in blocks, fourth in aces and ninth in digs per game.

“She will come into our program and immediately be one of the best offensive players in the Big 12,” said OU head coach Santiago Restrepo. “She is the type of athlete that can carry a team and immediately elevate their level of play.”

Restrepo continued, “She is a great blocker with a huge vertical. She is an extremely hard hitter and has great floor knowledge. Eliane has all the skills and will add a lot of physicality, power and speed to our team.”

The first time the coaching staff saw her play was against Pac 10 powerhouse Stanford. Santos dominated the match and paced CSI to the spring season victory.

“We knew immediately that we should pursue this athlete,” said OU assistant coach Steve Loeswick, who attended the match against Stanford. “She is a similar athlete to former Hawaii All-American and AVCA Player-of- the-Year Kim Willoughby.”

Santos gave her verbal commitment to the OU program early this fall.

When Santos arrives next fall she will have two remaining years of eligibility. The OU staff expects to plug her in as a starting middle blocker.

The 22-year old is married to Carlos Santos and the couple has a 3-year old daughter Maria.

TAKING ADVANTAGE
Freshman Anna Stadel is making the most of her opportunity to start at middle blocker. An outsider can watch her sky and swing and know that she isn't short on potential, but the high school to college transition is a difficult one. She watched the majority of the first 18 matches of her collegiate career from the bench. Then OU head coach Santiago Restrepo put her into the starting lineup at Iowa State (Oct. 23) and she has showed no signs of relinquishing the duty. Since becoming a starter seven matches ago, she is averaging 2.16 kills per game while hitting at a team high clip of .256 and averaging another team high 1.52 blocks per game. Some of Stadel's offensive contributions have to be credited to Julie Chester, who also began starting recently, and worked with Stadel on the second team for the first half of the season.

COMING OUT PARTY
Freshman setter Julie Chester took over the starting reigns 10 matches ago with the daunting challenge of Missouri, No. 5 Nebraska and No. 20 Texas A&M staring her squarely in the face. As expected, the young signal caller had some struggles against three of the Big 12's best teams. Against Colorado on Oct. 16, she had a coming out party with career-highs in every category except solo blocks. She was at it again in the sweep of Iowa State, 42 assists in just three games, and against No. 15 Texas A&M with 49 helpers. The stats don't tell the whole story though. Chester ran the offense with a new found speed and precision, which was a major factor in the upset of Colorado. As for Rachel Jackson, who Chester replaced in the starting lineup, she has become a back row defensive substitution for Gabriela Tonon. It is a role that Jackson flourished in since the change (2.10 DPG). It also adds another dimension to the Sooner defense and offense with a second setter in the lineup.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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