Volleyball Home Saturday At 3 P.M.

NORMAN, Okla. - The Oklahoma volleyball team will look to get back on track this Saturday when it faces Iowa State at 3 p.m. inside the Howard McCasland Field House. The Sooners (5-12, 0-8 Big 12) are trying to snap their nine-match losing streak while the Cyclones (11-8, 7-4 Big 12) have dropped their last two matches to top-25 teams (No. 24 Texas A&M and No. 20 Kansas State).

Saturday afternoon will also be Breast Cancer Awareness Day with the first 250 fans in attendance receiving a Breast Cancer Awareness pink ribbon. Following the match, an autograph session will be held with the team and coaches. As usual, admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children.

Live Stats

Iowa State has been a surprise team in the Big 12 this season under the leadership of first-year coach Christy Johnson. The Cyclones, picked in the preseason to finish last in the Big 12, are currently tied for fifth in the conference standings. ISU's biggest win this season came against No. 18 Texas, handing the Longhorns their only loss in Big 12 action.

The biggest reason for the improved Cyclone squad is the team's defense. ISU is among the top teams in the Big 12, defensively. The Cyclones are averaging 16.11 digs per game (second in Big 12) and 3.08 blocks per game (third in the league). Iowa State holds a strong advantage in these categories with Oklahoma only tallying 11.77 digs per game (last in Big 12) and 2.57 blocks per game (eighth in Big 12).

Leading the ISU defense is sophomore Erin Boeve who is averaging a stellar 2.00 blocks per game in conference matches (2nd in Big 12) and 1.78 BPG overall, which ranks fifth in the nation.

Junior middle blocker Jessica Klein teams well with Boeve and is contributing 1.07 stuffs per game.

Guiding the back row defense is junior Katie Churm who is leading the Big 12 with 4.80 digs per game. The libero is coming off a 20-dig performance against No. 24 Texas A&M Wednesday night.

Offensively, the Cyclones and Sooners match up evenly. ISU is pounding 14.64 kills per game (ninth in the Big 12) compared to OU's 14.16 KPG (10th in the Big 12). OU's 6-2 offense is producing 13.03 assists per game while Iowa State owns a mark of 13.52 APG.

Junior outside hitter Katie Jessen and Boeve team up to lead the Cyclone offense. Jessen owns a 3.29 KPG mark on a .177 clip while Boeve adds 3.14 KPG on a .232 clip. In addition, Klein is tallying 2.18 KPG game with a hitting percentage of .261.

All three are coming off impressive offensive performances against Texas A&M. Boeve (19) and Klein (13) each posted career highs in kills while Jessen recorded a double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs.

Oklahoma returns home after dropping a 3-1 loss to Baylor in Waco Wednesday night. The Sooners are aiming for their first Big 12 win of the season Saturday against Iowa State.

Juniors Eliane Santos and Anna Monsen had impressive defensive outings against Baylor and need to bring that momentum to the Iowa State match. Santos posted 10 block assists while Monsen made her first start of the season at libero and collected a team-high 12 digs.

Offensively, Santos continues to be the offensive leader with additional support from junior Joanna Schmitt and sophomore Anna Stadel. Santos leads the team with 4.16 kills per game (fourth in the Big 12). The junior transfer has tallied double-digit kills in 12 of the 13 matches she has played in this season.

Schmitt is second on the team with 3.13 KPG, but is also a defensive presence with 2.15 digs per game. Stadel has been stellar in the past three matches, hitting at a clip of .439 while averaging 2.69 digs.

Other contributors to the balanced Oklahoma offensive attack are senior Gabriela Tono, averaging 2.36 KPG, and sophomore Sarah Weiland, tallying 2.19 KPG.

All-Time Series
The Sooners and Cyclones will meet for the 55th time when they square off Saturday afternoon. Oklahoma leads the series 36-18 and owns the series in Norman, 17-6. Last season ISU and OU split its two meetings. Iowa State took the first match in Norman, 3-1, while Oklahoma bounced back with a sweep of the Cyclones in Ames.

Last Time Out vs. Cyclones
The Sooners avenged an earlier season loss in Norman last season when they faced Iowa State in Ames. OU swept ISU (31-29, 30-25, 33-31) in three games. Joanna Schmitt led the Sooners with a double-double in a 17-kill, 11-dig performance. Anna Stadel added nine kills on a .471 clip to push the Sooners to victory.

Baylor Leftovers
Oklahoma dropped its ninth straight match Wednesday night in a four-game (23-30, 30-21, 26-30, 28-30) loss to Baylor in Waco, Texas. The Sooners took the lead in every game, but were unable to finish off each game. Defensively, the Sooners had a strong outing behind the efforts of juniors Eliane Santos and Anna Monsen. Santos tallied a career-high 10 block assists, one shy of the four-game rally-scoring record, and made an impact offensively with 14 kills. Monsen, started the final three games at libero for the first time this season and tallied a season-high 12 digs.

Time Change
Oklahoma's match against Colorado (Oct. 22) in Boulder, Colo., has been changed to 12:30 p.m. The match, originally slated for 7 p.m., was changed to accommodate the Colorado/Kansas football game slated for 5 p.m.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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