Best Start In School History

NORMAN, Okla. The Oklahoma (6-0) volleyball team became the first in school history to start a season with six wins after knocking off Memphis (5-1) on Friday afternoon at the BYU Mizuno Classic in Provo, Utah. It took four games (33-30, 30-23, 29-31, 30-27) for the Sooners who came out of the gates on fire but had to fight tooth and nail to finish the previously undefeated Tigers.

For the second consecutive match OU had four players with double-digit kills. It marked the first time since 1999 that OU has accomplished the well-rounded feat in consecutive matches.

Leading the offensive charge was sophomore Joanna Schmitt, who tied her own rally-scoring four game kills record with 23 put-aways. She hit at a consistent .250 clip and also tallied three block assists. Schmitt had previously set the mark against Oral Roberts on Sept. 16, 2003, while Logan Pierce owned a share of the record for her 23 kills against Middle Tennessee State on Nov. 3, 2001.

Box Score | Season Stats

Joining Schmitt in the double-digit kill club were Keri Coats with 12, Jennifer Adams with 10 and Gabriela Tonon with 10. Sophomore Laura Tomes was one kill shy with 9. Tomes hit at an impressive .375 clip, while Coats continued her impressive start to 2004 with a .357 outing.

Sophomore Rachel Jackson set an OU rally-scoring record with 57 assists, which breaks the mark of 54 by Jessica Barney from 2002. Jackson has averaged 16.1 assists per game since Restrepo gave her the reins (three matches ago) as the only setter in their 5-1 offensive system.

On the defensive side Anna Monsen topped the squad with a career-high 19 digs, while senior libero Stephanie Tengram had 11 digs. At the net OU recorded 11 team blocks with Tomes topping the squad with nine block assists, which tied the OU rally-scoring four game record held by teammate Jennifer Mosso.

Offensively, OU came out on fire as they hit well above .300 in the first two games (.316, .371). In the third frame, OU hit just .096 and lost just its third game of the year. OU rebounded to take the match in the fourth thanks in part to an improved offense that hit .256.

“I am happy that we won and that's about it,” said OU head coach Santiago Restrepo. “I'll always take the win but I wasn't happy with our performance and the team was not satisfied either. We'll have to come out with a better effort tomorrow if we want to win both of those matches.”

The previous best start in OU volleyball history was a 5-0 mark in 2000.

The undefeated Sooners will play a doubleheader in BYU Mizuno Classic action on Saturday. Up first is Utah Valley State, which is 1-1 on the season, at 11 a.m. OU will close tourney play with a 3 p.m. tilt against the host Cougars of BYU, who are off to a 3-1 start.

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