Volleyball A Perfect Two-For-Two

NORMAN, Okla - First year head coach Santiago Restrepo has preached defense since he arrived in January. Yet while his defense has been solid in two matches this season, it's the offense that is hitting on all cylinders. The Sooners scorched the Louisiana-Monroe front line in route to a .315 hitting percentage and three game sweep (30-26, 30-19, 33-31) of the Indians on Friday evening at the Holiday Inn University of Texas-Pan American Invitational in Edinburg, Texas.

In the first two matches of the Restrepo era the Sooners have hit for a combined percentage of .334, which is nearly double OU's .172 mark from last season.

“I am happy we won and that we did in three sets,” said Restrepo. “We came out flat and still won the first two games. It wasn't until we were down 17-10 in the third set that we finally woke up and played with real intensity. It was nice to see the comeback but we need to have a more consistent effort.”

Box Score

The offensive leader was 2003 Big 12 Freshman of the Year finalist Joanna Schmitt with 13 kills and a .308 hitting percentage. The sophomore also aced four serves for the second consecutive match.

Junior Sheena Werling wasn't far off Schmitt's pace with 12 kills and a .385 percentage. Werling also tied for the team lead in digs with eight. That total was also reached by senior defensive specialist Stephanie Tengram.

Junior Jennifer Adams continued her torrid start to 2004 with nine kills and a .412 hitting percentage. She set an OU rally score record by hitting .652 in the season opener and is now hitting at a ridiculous .550 clip through two matches.

The Sooners outpaced ULM in every statistical category. The biggest disparity was found in kills with OU tallying 50 and Monroe turning in just 33.

“Whereas in the season opener I wanted to feature our middle blockers, this time I wanted to run a more balanced offensive attack,” said Restrepo. “We've accomplished both of our offensive goals through two matches, which is a very positive sign.”

The two setter system featuring freshman Julie Chester and sophomore Rachel Jackson continued to show positive results. Chester tallied 18 assists and was bested by Jackson who had 25.

OU has approximately 20 hours of rest before they meet Grambling State on Saturday at 3 p.m. OU will have a quick turnaround as it also faces host UTPA at 7 p.m. OU is 2-0 on the young season while at release time Grambling State and UTPA are 1-0.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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