Volleyball Enters Big 12 Home Stretch

NORMAN, Okla. -- The Oklahoma volleyball team (10-12, 2-11 Big 12) begins the home stretch of the Big 12 season with a Saturday evening match at Kansas (13-9, 4-9). First serve between the Sooners and Jayhawks is set for 7 p.m. from the Horejsi Family Athletics Center on the Lawrence campus.

Oklahoma will have to rebound from a disappointing four game loss to TCU on Wednesday night. The Sooners failed in their attempt to become the first team in program history to collect a perfect non-conference record. Either way, it's hard to complain about an 8-1 non-conference mark.

Kansas was swept on Wednesday night in the second installation of the Border Showdown with Missouri. KU traveled to Missouri and was beat 30-23, 30-26 and 30-25.

Live Stats | Complete Match Notes In PDF Format

Outside hitter Jana Correa had 17 kills but KU couldn't get their middle duo of Josi Lima and Ashley Michaels going (11 kills combined).

Despite the struggles against Mizzou, OU can expect a heavy dose of Lima and Michaels. The veteran duo will attack OU's frontline, which will feature a combo of freshman Anna Stadel, junior Jennifer Adams and junior Gabriela Tonon.

The Jayhawks inside-out offense feeds Lima as the number one option. She is averaging a team high 3.45 kills per game. Michaels isn't far off with 3.00 kills per game and a .306 hitting percentage. Correa, KU's left sider, is also averaging over 3.0 kills per game.

In the first meeting Lima and Correa combined for 30 kills, while junior outside hitter Paula Caten tallied 15 kills. KU invaded Norman on Oct. 20 and easily swept the Sooners.

KU setter Andi Rozum had 36 assists and four kills on five attempts in the earlier meeting. The Sooners will have to be leery of Rozum, who is KU's leading attacker by percentage (.324) and averages 1.03 kills per.

OU leads the all-time series 37-22 but has lost six straight meetings with KU. The Sooners have not been successful in Lawrence since 1997.

OU returns home on Wednesday to face Texas Tech (8-12, 4-10 Big 12). The Sooners will look to avenge an earlier loss to the Red Raiders in a 7 p.m. showdown at the Howard McCasland Field House. The first 200 fans will receive free OU pennants on Norman Community Night. As usual admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children.

KEY MATCH UP
OU middle blockers
vs.
KU middle blockers

Stats
Jennifer Adams - 2.16 KPG, .196 %, 1.12 BPG
Anna Stadel - 1.78 KPG, .210 %, 1.11 BPG
Gabriela Tonon - 2.54 KPG, .159 %, 0.5 BPG
vs.
Josi Lima - 3.45 KPG, .250 %, 2.3 DPG, 0.91 BPG
Ashley Michaels - 3.0 KPG, .306 %, 1.45 BPG

Breakdown
Not only is the play of OU's middle blockers crucial to their success against KU this weekend, it may be the key for the remainder of the season. OU head coach Santiago Restrepo has tried a number of combinations at the positions in hopes of finding a consistent balance of offense and defense.

Junior Gabriela Tonon and freshman Anna Stadel have started at middle for the last three matches. It's likely that Restrepo will shift Tonon back to the outside and reinsert Jennifer Adams in the starting lineup at middle.
The number one priority of whichever tandem ends up at middle blocker will be slowing down KU's Josi Lima and Ashley Michaels.

Defensively, OU middles need to make life difficult for Lima and Michaels. If they can force the Jayhawks into a few uncharacteristic errors it will bode well for OU. Offensively, the middles need to take advantage when the ball comes their way. It is unlikely that KU's defense will focus on them, which means hitting lanes should be open when the sets come their way.

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 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 three matches ago, she is averaging 2.21 kills per game while hitting .243 and averaging 1.21 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 eight 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 (2.28 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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