Friday Night Spikes

NORMAN, Okla. -- The Oklahoma volleyball team begins the home portion of its Big 12 schedule against Iowa State at 7 p.m. on Friday. The Howard McCasland Field House doors will open at 6 p.m. and the first 300 fans in attendance will receive free OU/Big 12 t-shirts. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children.

Both squads are 0-1 in conference play after disappointing four game losses on Wednesday night. OU (8-1) had the best start in program history derailed by Texas Tech. An inefficient offense was the downfall of the Sooners, who statistically had a decent match on all other accounts.

Iowa State fell to No. 12 Texas A&M in four games despite taking the opener. The Cyclones hit just. 187 for the match and were doubled up in aces and blocks by the Aggies.

Iowa State has five regulars averaging over two kills per game. Tops in the group is junior Katie Kruenegel at 3.18. Nicole Lorenzen and Katie Jessen are averaging 2.82 and 2.69 kills per game, respectively.

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Running the Cyclone 5-1 offense is junior Amanda Craig, who has the fourth best assists per game average in the Big 12 at 12.07. The best player on their squad may just be sophomore libero Katie Churm, who is third in the Big 12 with 4.3 digs per game.

First year OU head coach Santiago Restrepo felt like the Sooners played out of character in their first loss of the season. For the first time this season they strayed from the game plan. Restrepo thinks it was an easy lesson to learn.

“We played out of character and tried to be a different team because it was a Big 12 opponent,” said Restrepo. “We just need to stick with the plan and play to our strengths.”

OU has a hefty 38-14 lead in the all-time series with Iowa State despite falling in both meetings last season.

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REMARKABLE START
Notes on Oklahoma's remarkable start to 2004....

* OU 8-0 start was the best in program history, topping the 2000 team which began 5-0.

* OU hit above .300 in its first three matches of the season, making them the first team in school history to begin with such a streak.

* They also became the first team since 1997 to top .300 in three straight matches. The 1997 squad accomplished the feat from Sept. 12-13. Ironically the final match of the streak was against UTPA, who OU could not extend the streak against this season. The previous two opponents in 1997 were Montana State and Texas-San Antonio.

* The 1997 and 2004 streaks were separated by 210 matches.

* OU also hit above .300 in four of its first five matches, which marked the first time OU had accomplished that feat since the first five contests of 1999, a span of 144 matches.

* In the match against Oral Roberts (9/7), OU set a rally-scoring record by hitting .402 in a three-game sweep. It marked the first time since Sept. 11, 1999, a span of 144 matches, that OU had surpassed the .400 plateau.

* OU also had four players reach double-digits in kills against ORU, which marked the first time that had happened in a three-game match since Nov. 25, 2000 against Kansas. It marked the first time OU has accomplished the feat since the inception of the rally scoring system (2001). In matches of any length, OU had only had four players with 10+ kills on seven occasions since the 2000 meeting with Kansas. This season OU has had four players with 10 or more kills on three occasions and in three of the last five outings.

* From 2000-2003 OU had only hit above .300 five times. During that four year span, OU hit above .200 on 39 occasions (39 %) with 15 (18%) of those outings coming during Big 12 play. The Sooners have topped the .200 plateau in seven of nine matches this season.

RPI'ING THE COMPETITION
OU head coach Santiago Restrepo refers to the Rating Percentage Index (RPI) likes it's the bible. He gauges the performances of his team based on their opponents RPI from 2003. In the eyes of Restrepo a win over any opponent rated higher than you in the season prior is of added significance. By those standards, OU's (No. 167 in 2003) win over BYU (No. 32 in 2003) was very impressive and the biggest so far this season. Other notables that OU has taken down this season are Oral Roberts at No. 127 and Mempis at No. 80. The competition over the next two weeks - Texas Tech (124), Iowa State (149), Baylor (151) and Kansas State (7) - were all ranked above OU in last year's index. The RPI accurately averages a team's strength based on win/losses and strength of schedule.

2004 BIOS

#1 Julie Chester
Tallied 19 assists in collegiate debut against Providence ... Averaged 6.7 assists per game while OU ran 6-2 offense during first tournament of the season (UTPA Invitational) ... Personal best 21 assists against Grambling State.

#2 Rachel Jackson
Consistent play has convinced coaching staff to run 5-1 system as opposed to 6-2, which OU opened the season with ... Averaging 10.88 assists (ninth in Big 12) per game ... Named to BYU Mizuno Classic all-tournament team ... Set OU rally scoring three game record with 46 assists against Oral Roberts (9/7), four-game record with 57 against Memphis (9/10) and five-game record with 58 versus BYU (9/11) ... Put away career best five kills and hit. 833 against Utah Valley State (9/11) ... Consistent play helped OU set team record with .402 hitting percentage against ORU.

#3 Anna Stadel
Hitting .471 with nine kills on 17 attempts as a freshman ... Fighting for time as the third middle blocker ... Also tallying 1.4 blocks per game ... Could receive the most playing time of freshmen.

#4 Laura Tomes
Still trying to find groove while recovering from ACL tear last season ... Hitting .338 with a just 14 errors on 142 swings so far this season ... Season high of nine kills twice during BYU Mizuno Classic ... Hit .400 with nine kills in upset of BYU (9/11) ... Assisted on nine blocks against Memphis (9/11).

#5 Stephanie Tengram
Acknowledged by coaching staff and teammates as one of the most improved players on the team ... Leading team with 3.35 digs per game ... Led OU in digs in fourmatches ... Set OU rally scoring five game record with 21 digs vs. Texas-Pan American.

#6 Katy Reiger
Is yet to receive playing time ... Will likely redshirt.

#8 Joanna Schmitt
Smarter, more well-rounded player is vocal leader of young squad, as well as being the only captain ... Leading team with 3.76 kills per game, which ranks 10th in the Big 12 ... Leads team with four double-doubles ... Named MVP of BYU Mizuno Classic and Holiday Inn UTPA Invitational ... Set OU rally-scoring four game record with 23 kills against Memphis (9/10) .... Also set OU rally scoring three game record with 19 kills against Oral Roberts, while also notching personal best of one error and .486 hitting percentage ... Has led OU in kills in five of nine matches, despite taking on average six less swings per match compared to last season (43 to 33) ... Has set new personal best in hitting percentage on two occasions.

#9 jennifer mosso
Still recovering from torn meniscus in right knee.

#10 Anna Monsen
Received playing time at defensive specialist in 28 of 34 games this season ... Averaging 2.36 digs per game with season and career high of 19 versus Memphis (9/10) ... Tallied eight digs in two games of play vs. Oral Roberts ... Coach Restrepo described her play vs. Oral Roberts as “amazing.”

#11 Jennifer Adams
The most consistent player for OU during early run ... Made dramatic improvements in her vertical leap and arm swing ... Hitting at a .277 clip with 2.74 kills per game ... Set OU rally-scoring four game record with 11 block assists against Utah Valley State (9/10) ... Set OU rally-scoring three game record with .652 hitting percentage against Providence (9/3) ... Also pounded career-best 15 kills in season opener against Providence ... Reached double-digits in kills five times after only accomplishing feat on four occasions during first two seasons.

#13 Keri Coats
Senior is off to the best start of her career ... Hitting at .381 clip, which ranks ninth in the Big 12 ... One of two Sooners averaging over three kills per game (3.24) ... Reached double digits in kills in six of the last seven matches ... Recorded match-high 20 kills while hitting at a .326 clip in upset of BYU (9/11) ... Hit .357 with 12 kills against Memphis (9/10) ... Set career-high with 21 kills against Texas-Pan American (Sept. 4) ... Also set personal-best with eight digs vs. Oral Roberts (Sept. 7).

#14 Gabriela Tonon
Recorded double-double (10 kills, 11 digs) in the first home match of her OU career ... Recorded double-digit kills in the last five matches ... Averaging 2.56 kills per game at No. 2 spot on the left side ... Recorded match high 20 kills in upset of BYU (9/11) ... Led team with 12 kills in loss to Texas Tech (9/15).

#15 Sheena Werling
Currently behind Gabriela Tonon for playing time at No. 2 on the left side ... Although she has been filling in on the back row for Tonon ... Averaging 1.07 kills per game and 1.48 digs per game.

#16 Lindsay Schuessler
Played in five games with one dig.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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