Completed Event: Volleyball versus Incarnate Word on August 29, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 0
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Volleyball
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University of Oklahoma Athletics
Volleyball Gets Second Shot at Colorado
October 21, 2005 | Volleyball
NORMAN, Okla. - Entering the second half of Big 12 play, the Oklahoma volleyball team (5-14, 0-10) seeks out its first conference win of the season when it heads to Colorado (8-7, 4-6) this Saturday for a 12:30 p.m. (MST) match up with the Buffaloes in Boulder, Colo.
The Buffs enter the contest on a hot streak after beating two top top-25 teams last week in Kansas State (then-No.20) and Texas A&M (then-No. 24). This week Colorado is receiving votes in the top 25 and had a scheduled night off this past Wednesday.
OU arrives in Boulder after dropping a three-game match (30-24, 30-26, 30-22) to No. 10 Missouri this past Wednesday. Colorado will be the eighth team the Sooners have faced this season that is either ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA poll.
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Both squads met earlier this season in Norman with Colorado pulling out the close five-game match (30-26, 24-30, 26-30, 30-27, 15-12). OU had a balanced offensive attack in the match with three Sooners tallying double-digit kills. Junior Eliane Santos recorded 16 kills while juniors Joanna Schmitt and Laura Tomes followed with 13 each. Colorado out-dug Oklahoma, 62 to 47, while also hitting at a .185 clip compared to OU's .132 mark.
The Buffs offense is spearheaded by senior right side hitter Allie Griffin. In the earlier meeting this season, Griffin put away 27 kills on a .314 clip and has not slowed down since.
Griffin is coming off an impressive week where she garnered Collegiate Volleyball Update's Player of the Week honor after leading her squad to upsets over Kansas State and Texas A&M. She tallied a career-high 29 kills against the Wildcats, marking the eighth match she has notched 20 or more kills.
Other contributors to the CU offense are sophomore outside hitter Amber Sutherland (3.58 KPG) and senior outside hitter Nicole Carr (2.31 KPG).
Making the lanes for the Buffs is junior setter Ashley Nu'u who is a top setter in the Big 12 with her 13.26 APG mark (second in the conference).
The efforts of these four combine to make Colorado's offense one of the best in the league. The Buffs are fourth in the conference in hitting percentage (.253) and kills per game (15.72) while averaging 14.77 assists per game (third in the Big 12).
Statistically, the weaker side of the Buffs is their defense. Colorado is last in the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.235) and blocks per game (2.17). CU owns the advantage over OU in digs per game with the Buffs collecting 13.72 per game (seventh in Big 12) to the Sooners' 11.77 per game (last in the conference).
For the Sooners, Oklahoma must step it up defensively against the Buffalo offensive attack. Since the loss to Colorado, Oklahoma has improved its performance at the net with an average of 2.64 blocks per game (eighth in the Big 12).
Santos has been exceptional in Big 12 play, averaging 1.47 stuffs per game while Anna Stadel has also been impressive as of late, averaging 1.13 blocks per game.
For the past two matches, Oklahoma has out-dug its opponents in the match and must continue this in efforts to break the Sooners' 11-match losing streak.
Sophomore transfer Hannah Sharp leads the back row with 2.89 digs per game while Schmitt adds 2.11 DPG.
Offensively, Santos continues to be the team's top scorer. The middle blocker is averaging 4.19 kills per game and has tallied double-digit kills in 15 matches this season.
Including Santos, five of the Sooner starters are averaging more than two kills per game. Schmitt follows Santos with 3.11 KPG while Stadel (2.37 KPG), senior Gabriela Tonon (2.31 KPG) and sophomore Sarah Weiland (2.20 KPG) all add to the offensive attack.
It will be up to the quarterbacks, setters Julie Chester and Rachel Jackson, of OU's 6-2 offense to open the lanes for the Oklahoma offense. Chester is averaging 6.80 APG while Jackson is tallying 6.11 APG.
OU VS. CU ALL-TIME SERIES
The Buffs lead the Sooners by a count of 32-10 after beating OU earlier this season in Norman. In matches played in Boulder, CU owns the 16-3 advantage.
LAST TIME OUT VS. THE BUFFS
The Sooners and Buffaloes went to the wire in a five-game showdown (30-26, 24-30, 26-30, 30-27, 15-12) that resulted in a Colorado victory in Norman. Oklahoma owned the advantage at the net with 18.0 total team blocks to CU's 10, but Colorado owned the offensive side of the ball with a .185 clip to OU's .132 clip.
OU had three Sooners tally double digit kills with Eliane Santos leading the way with 16 while the defense couldn't contain CU's Allie Griffin who put away a match-high 27 kills.
NEXT UP FOR THE SOONERS
OU will return home to avenge its loss to Texas Tech earlier this season. First serve will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26 at the Howard McCasland Field House.
MISSOURI LEFTOVERS
The Sooners played their sixth ranked opponent of the season in No. 10 Missouri this past Wednesday in Columbia, Mo. The Tigers swept the Sooners in three close games (30-24, 30-26, 30-22). OU couldn't close the gap on Missouri as it posted a .262 clip to Oklahoma's .153 mark. Defensively, OU was sharp, collecting 49 digs to MU's 44 and posting 9.5 blocks to Missouri's 8.0.
Junior Eliane Santos led the Sooner offense with 14 kills on a .400 clip. MU's Jessica Vander Kooi and Na Yang each tallied 11 kills for the Tigers.
OFFENSIVE COMPARISON
Since the arrival of head coach Santiago Restrepo last season, the Oklahoma statistics continue to improve. In 2004, OU improved in every major statistical category. The same can be said in 2005. Through 19 matches of the 29-match season, Oklahoma has made improvements in every offensive category. Below is a comparison of the 2004 season stats with OU's numbers so far this season:
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SANTOS VS. TOP NEWCOMERS
Junior transfer Eliane Santos, a former College of Southern Idaho product, is making a strong case for the Big 12's Newcomer of the Year. The following is a look at where she compares to other top newcomers or freshmen around the league:
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WEILAND = ACE
Sophomore transfer Sarah Weiland, a former Tulane product, has been a strong impact to the Sooner offense from behind the line. The outside hitter is leading the Big 12 in service aces with 37 produced this season. Behind Weiland's 0.54 per game mark, the Sooners are ranked fourth in the Big 12 (1.63 APG). Weiland has produced an ace in 14 of the 19 matches this season.
SOONERS TAKE NO. 1 HUSKERS TO FOUR
Oklahoma became only the third team (at the time) to take No. 1 Nebraska to four games this season in a tough 3-1 loss to the Huskers at the Howard McCasland Field House (9/28). In addition, OU was the first Big 12 team to take Nebraska to four games.
SCHMITT BREAKS 1,000 MARK
In her first match back as the Sooners' starting outside hitter (9/17) after being sidelined due to an ankle injury, junior Joanna Schmitt pounded 12 kills which set her among a new category, the 1,000 kills career mark. The preseason All-Big 12 selection already led the rally-scoring era in career kills and now owns a current mark of 1,063.
SANTOS AND SOONERS SET RECORDS
In only her sixth match as a Sooner, junior transfer Eliane Santos set an OU rally-scoring record with four solo blocks against Kansas (9/17). The previous mark for a rally-scoring match was three, held by several Sooners. In addition, Santos' efforts led the team to set a rally-scoring record with eight solo blocks by the squad. The previous mark was seven set against the exact same opponent, Kansas, in 2001.
WEILAND MOVES TO NO. 2 ON LIST
After posting 37 aces in her first 19 matches at Oklahoma, sophomore transfer Sarah Weiland has already moved into the No. 2 spot on OU's single season list. Weiland leads the Big 12 with 0.56 per game and only needs to seven more to break the single season aces mark held by Jessica Barney in 2001.
SOONERS BREAKING RECORDS
The Oklahoma volleyball squad has broken or tied a number of team and individual OU rally scoring records. Below is a list of the records:
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NEWCOMER CONTRIBUTION
The Sooners have had multiple newcomers who have been strong additions to the Sooner lineup. Sophomore transfers Hannah Sharp (Louisville) and Sarah Weiland (Tulane) have been consistent leading contributors to the Sooners defensively and offensively while junior transfer Eliane Santos (College of Southern Idaho) has been a dominating force.
The following is a look at what each newcomer is contributing:
Eliane Santos - 4.19 kills per game; KPG ranks fourth among all Big 12 players; leads team in blocks with 1. 40 per game; fourth among Big 12 players in BPG; third on team in digs with 1.50 per game.
Hannah Sharp - team leader in digs (2.89 per game)
Sarah Weiland - leads Big 12 in aces with 0.54 per game; broke OU and Big 12 record with nine aces against Loyola; averaging 2.20 kills per game.
BIG 12 DOMINANCE
The Big 12 Conference is making a strong case that it's one of the best volleyball leagues in the country. This week the conference has four teams in the AVCA Top-25 poll with No. 1 Nebraska leading the charge. In addition, the Colorado and Texas A&M are each receiving votes in the top-25 poll.
SANTOS SHINES IN OPENER
In her first match as a Sooner, two-time junior college All-American (College of Southern Idaho) Eliane Santos posted a double-double with 19 kills and 12 digs for the Sooners against UTA (9/7) The junior middle blocker led all players in kills and tied teammate Joanna Schmitt's mark for the most kills in a three-game rally-scoring match at OU. Schmitt set the record against Indiana earlier this year.
SCHMITT EARNS ALL-TOURNEY HONORS
Despite not playing in the final match of the Hampton Inn Bama Bash due to injury, Oklahoma junior outside hitter Joanna Schmitt was still selected to the Hampton Inn Bama Bash All Tournament team for her efforts against Indiana and Loyola-Chicago on Friday, Sept. 2. Schmitt hit at an impressive .547 clip in tournament action while pounding 42 kills and collecting 16 digs in two matches.
In addition, The preseason All-Big 12 team member pounded a match-high 19 kills against Loyola-Chicago while hitting at an impressive .567 clip, a new career high. Schmitt's previous career high in hitting percentage was .486, set against Oral Roberts last September.
Schmitt set a new three-game rally-scoring record with her 19 kills. Schmitt held the previous mark of 18 that was set her freshman season against Drake.
WEILAND SERVES UP RECORD
Sophomore transfer Sarah Weiland, a Tulane product, broke all sorts of records after serving up nine aces against Loyola-Chicago Friday afternoon. Weiland set an Oklahoma sideout-scoring record as well as a new rally-scoring record.
Former Sooner Sheena Werling held the rally-scoring record with six aces while Gloria Holcomb held the sideout record with eight. In addition, the Sooners totaled 17 aces which set a new team-rally scoring record.
Weiland also set new Big 12 records with her strong performance. She now holds the four-game rally scoring aces record mark in the conference. The previous record was eight and held by Katia Lara of Texas (2000). Currently, Weiland leads all Big 12 players with 15 aces on the season (1.25 per game).
SCHMITT SETS CAREER MARK
It only took her one match into the 2005 season to break the rally-scoring career record in digs for the Sooners. Junior Joanna Schmitt, a preseason All Big 12 selection, set the new career bench mark of 622 digs after collecting a team-high 13 digs in her first outing of the season (8/27).
The Cottage Grove, Wis., native already owns the rally-scoring career mark in kills with a current tally of 990 and two more seasons ahead of her.
Additionally, Schmitt is on pace to break the rally-scoring aces mark (73) and needs only 14 more to do so. Schmitt led the team in aces in 2004 after recording 20 over the course of last season.
SCHMITT NAMED PRESEASON ALL-BIG 12
Oklahoma volleyball standout Joanna Schmitt has been chosen as a preseason All-Big 12 selection for 2005. The 5-10 junior outside hitter was picked by the league's head coaches and was one of 13 players voted to the squad.
As last year's team captain Schmitt nailed a team-leading 425 kills for an average of 4.01 kills per game, which ranked ninth among all Big 12 players. The Cottage Grove, Wis., native also produced 13 double-doubles on the season, led the team in service aces with 20 and ranked second on the team in digs with 285.
“This is a compliment to Joanna and how hard she works,” head coach Santiago Restrepo said. “All the coaches recognize what a great job she has done for us. I know she wants to improve this season and show that she belongs among this group.”
SOONERS PICKED TO FINISH NINTH
In the Big 12 Coaches Preseason Poll, the OU volleyball squad was picked to finish in ninth place in the conference race. The Sooners finished ninth in 2004 above Baylor and Iowa State. Defending Big 12 Champion Nebraska and current No. 1 in the country was chosen as the preseason favorite for the conference crown.
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Saturday, August 30
VB Highlights: OU 3, Incarnate Word 0
Friday, August 29
VB Highlights: OU 3, Missouri State 1
Friday, August 29
