Volleyball Can't Rally Past Iowa State

NORMAN, Okla. It was pretty simple Friday night at the Howard McCasland Field House. Iowa State had less errors in three of four games and used the more efficient offense to defeat the Oklahoma volleyball team in four games. OU did salvage the third game when their offense was clicking at a better pace but it wasn't enough in their Big 12 home opener. A rowdy crowd of 665 watched the Sooners fall to 8-2 on the season and 0-2 in Big 12 play, while Iowa State improved to 7-2 and 0-2.

“Confidence, confidence, confidence. That is all it comes down to,” said first year head coach Santiago Restrepo. "We have to trust in each other and learn how to win. In the first two games we were tentative and we lost. In the third and fourth games we battled and played good volleyball. It's a simple lack of confidence.”

The fourth and decisive game was a battle from the beginning and the most entertaining of the evening. The squads exchanged side outs for the majority of the set until a few errant passes allowed ISU to pull ahead 28-26. OU would side out at match point but an attack error by Joanna Schmitt sealed it for the Cyclones at 30-27.

Box Score

Schmitt did record her fifth double-double of the season with 19 kills and 14 digs. She hit at a .169 clip, which was slightly better than the Sooners season-low .143 mark.

Senior Keri Coats added her second double-double with 10 in the kill and dig departments. Junior-transfer Gabriela Tonon was one dig shy of a double-double with 15 kills and nine digs. Tonon caught fire in the fourth set with a team-best seven put aways.

Sophomore setter Rachel Jackson had a solid all-around match with five kills on six attempts for a .833 hitting percentage (ties a career-high). She also tallied 46 assists and 12 digs for the unconventional double-double.

The star of the match for OU was senior Stephanie Tengram. Her play ignited one of the best home crowds in recent memory. Her multiple one arm and diving into the bleacher digs threw the crowd into a frenzy on numerous occasions. On the night she tallied 13 digs to reach double-digits for the fifth time this season.

OU had trouble stopping the ISU duo of Britanny Dalager and Katie Jessen, who tallied 19 and 17 kills, respectively. Two other Cyclones, Ashlie McWhee and Nicole Lorenzen, also reached double-figures in kills.

The Sooners must regroup before Wednesday night when they travel to Baylor. The Bears were swept in their Big 12 opener at Texas.