Volleyball Makes No. 3 Nebraska Work To Clinch Big 12 Title

NORMAN, Okla. On Saturday night the Oklahoma volleyball team flashed the potential that has excited the volleyball community in Norman. Unfortunately, they also flashed the inconsistency that has frustrated the first year coaching staff.

The up and down play resulted in a four game loss (27-30, 35-33, 13-30, 19-30) to No. 3 Nebraska on Saturday night at the Howard McCasland Field House.

“I am proud of the way we performed,” said OU head coach Santiago Restrepo. “That is the first step toward becoming an elite team. Hopefully, we continue to take those steps. We played hard and stayed aggressive throughout, which is very impressive against the third-ranked team in the country.”

Box Score

The Sooners quickly made things interesting in what was expected to be a one-sided match. After trailing by three OU took a 7-5 lead. After relinquishing the advantage and falling back 20-15, the Sooners stormed to a 21-20 lead thanks to a six-point rally. Nebraska took advantage of few late Sooner mistakes to win the opener 30-27.

OU was undeterred by the first game loss and dominated play early in the second frame as it took a 11-5 lead. They pushed their lead to 18-11 before a steady Husker 14-6 rally gave the visitors the 25-24 lead. OU answered and pushed to match point at 29-27. It would take seven matches points and an assisted block by Anna Stadel and Gabriela Tonon to win the game (35-33) and even the match at one apiece.

The single game win marked the first time since 1997, when OU upset the highly-ranked Huskers in Norman, that the Sooners have taken a game from NU. It also snapped a streak of 18 straight game victories for the Huskers.

All the momentum OU gained in the second game disappeared in the third frame. The Sooners came out flat and allowed Nebraska to cruise to a 30-13 win. The jagged play continued into the fourth frame and eventually cost the Sooners the match with 30-19 loss in the finale.

No. 3 Nebraska clinched the outright Big 12 Championship by improving to 18-0 in conference and 25-1 on the season. Oklahoma fell to 3-15 in league play and 11-16 overall.

Sophomore Joanna Schmitt was the catalyst in the first two games. She had 14 kills through two and would finish with 21 on the night.

When OU's passing went down hill in the final two games it hampered the offense.

Junior Gabriela Tonon had a similar story line to Schmitt. She had 13 kills through two and finished with 17. Tonon led the Sooners with a .361 hitting percentage.

Freshman setter Julie Chester had 49 assists and 10 digs for the unconventional double-double. Sophomore libero Anna Monsen led OU in digs for the fourth straight match with 14 scoops.

Nebraska was led by a group of five attackers who put away at least 10 kills. Tops among the group was middle blocker Melissa Elmer, who had 18 kills while hitting .485. Elmer also dominated play at the net with an OU opponent-season-high 12 block assists.

The Sooners have two matches remaining. They begin Thanksgiving week with a Wednesday trip to Colorado and close it with a Saturday - Senior Night - match at the Lloyd Noble Center against Baylor. Both matches are set to begin at 7 p.m.