Volleyball Season Preview: Part Four

New head coach Santiago Restrepo has given the Oklahoma volleyball program a face lift since he took over in January. Now the real work begins as the Sooners hit training camp and begin preparation for a the 2004 season. Today is the final installment in a four-part preview of the upcoming season, which begins at the Holiday Inn/University of Texas-Pan American Invitational on Sept. 3.

THE SCHEDULE
The slate features seven teams that reached the NCAA Tournament in 2003, six of which are Big 12 foes.

The season begins at the Holiday Inn University of Texas-Pan American Invitational in Edinburg, Texas. OU is one of five teams in the round-robin tourney. OU will open the 2004 campaign with a doubleheader against Providence and Louisiana-Monroe on Friday, Sept. 3. The Sooners will square off with Grambling State and UTPA the next day to close out the four-game tournament.

OU will look to make it two consecutive seasons with wins over Oral Roberts when the regional foes open the Howard McCasland Field House on Tuesday, Sept. 7.

After the home opener, OU leaves for Provo, Utah, and the BYU Mizuno Classic which begins Friday, Sept. 10. First serve for OU is against Memphis, who went 30-6 in 2003 but didn't get an NCAA postseason invitation. Last year, Restrepo's Southern Miss squad defeated the Tigers in five sets. OU will close out its tourney slate with a Saturday twin bill against Utah Valley State and BYU. BYU, the only non-conference opponent that played in the 2003 postseason, reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to highly-ranked Hawaii.

“Our goal is to be in the top half of the Big 12,” said Restrepo. “I took this job with that goal for the first two seasons. Then we will build upon those goals.”

OU opens the Big 12 season with a road trip to Texas Tech on Wednesday, Sept. 15. The Big 12 home opener is against Iowa State on Friday, Sept. 17. The game was moved up a day to accommodate OU fans who want to attend the OU home football game against Oregon on Saturday, Sept. 18.

“I am looking forward to the Big 12 season,” said Restrepo. “I want to see where we stack up against the conference. I am interested to see how other teams in conference have changed and improved.”

Home rivalry games against Texas and Nebraska are scheduled for October 27 and November 20, respectively. Senior Day for 2004 graduates Keri Coats and Stephanie Tengram is set for Nov. 27 against Baylor.

A new addition to the Sooners' schedule, which is different from past seasons, is a non-conference meeting with Texas Christian University in the middle of the conference race. Restrepo filled the Sooners' conference bye with a home tilt against TCU on November 3.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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