Joanna Schmitt Online Journal No. 2

NORMAN, Okla -- Oklahoma outside hitter Joanna Schmitt continues her player journal to take fans behind the scenes as the Sooners attack the 2004 season. The Sooners are perfect at 8-0, which is the best start in program history. As for Schmitt she has tallied two MVP awards through two non-conference tournaments this season. Last Friday, Joanna checked in with SoonerSports.com to talk about the season so far and answers questions from fans.

This is the second installment of Joanna's journal. There is a link at the bottom of the page so you can submit questions for Joanna to reply to in her next entry.

Joanna Schmitt
Journal No. 2 (Sept. 13, 2004)
Hey everyone! Thanks for the support you have been giving the team and thanks for checking out my journal. I'll go ahead and talk a little bit about the season and then answer some questions from fans.

The season so far has been pretty good. In our first tournament at Texas-Pan American we faced some pretty decent teams and got some good wins under our belt. After that, we opened up at home against Oral Roberts. It was definitely our best match of the season and a good confidence builder for our tournament at BYU. Our offense was very successful in part because our defense was so good in that match. If we pass well defensively, it gives the offense one-on-one opportunities to put away kills. Against ORU our passing was outstanding and that is why our offensive was clicking so well.

I think we are definitely improving as a team and if we continue to do that, we should continue to win.

On to a few questions:

Joanna, what has new head coach Santiago Restrepo brought to the table?
Andre from Inglewood, Calif.

Santiago is very intense and demanding. He is extremely knowledgeable. He knows how to tell you something in the middle of the game so that you can make adjustments and help you get a point or a block. Santi, as we like to call him, has a amazing volleyball mind.

Motivation is another strength of coach's. His stare works better than words sometimes. He has been extremely tough on us in practice and it has shown in our matches. We panicked at times last year and this season we haven't. If something goes wrong, we become more aggressive.

Hey Joanna, good luck this season. I was wondering who you think is the most improved player on this year's team?
Brandy from Ardmore, Okla.

It has to be Jennifer Adams. She is transitioning really well and getting up to block a lot of balls, so I have to go with Jen on that one. There have been other players, like Stephanie Tengram and Keri Coats who have improved a lot, but I think everyone on the team would agree that Jen has stood out the most.

Can you tell me what it is like on a road trip for a team?
Devoted Sooner Fan from Norman, Okla.

Since it's Friday, Sept. 10 and we are on the road at BYU, I'll take you through our routine today.

We get up and eat a light breakfast. After that we head to the gym and practice for a little bit. Today we woke up at 7:30 and were at the gym by 9. After practicing for an hour we have another light meal and then head back to the gym about an hour before our game, warm up and hit the court. After the match we head back to the hotel, shower, eat and tonight we're going to scout BYU.

Well that's about it for now. Before I go I want to say hello to everybody from Wisconsin. I also want to say hi to Mr. and Mrs. Winters in Florida. Don't forget our Big 12 home opener is this Friday against Iowa State at 7 p.m. at the McCasland Field House. The first 300 fans in attendance will receive free OU/Big 12 t-shirts.

Hope to see you there.

#8 Joanna Schmitt

Ask Joanna a Question | Sooner Online Journals

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