Volleyball Hosts No. 23 A&M Saturday

NORMAN, Okla. - After taking a break from conference action, the Oklahoma volleyball team returns to Big 12 play to host No. 23 Texas A&M this Saturday inside the Howard McCasland Field House. First serve is set for 7 p.m.

The first 250 fans through the doors will receive OU pom-pons. In addition, an autograph session by OU's coaches and players will be held immediately following the match.

Both teams enter the contest trying to break its losing streak and garner its first win in the Big 12. The Aggies own a 7-7 mark with all but one of their losses coming to top-25 teams. In the Big 12, A&M has dropped matches to Kansas (0-3), No. 7 Missouri (1-3), No. 1 Nebraska (0-3), No. 20 Kansas State (0-3) and a 3-2 loss to No. 19 Texas this past Wednesday.

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The Sooners have suffered a similar fate with losses to Kansas State (0-3), at Kansas (2-3), at Texas Tech (0-3), Colorado (2-3), Nebraska (1-3) and at Texas (0-3). Oklahoma was unable to snap its losing skid this past Wednesday when it stepped out of league play to take on Oral Roberts. The Sooners and Golden Eagles went back and forth before ORU eventually took the match 3-2.

Despite enduring a six-match losing streak, the Aggies are still a top-25 team and claim the conference's top kills per game leader in senior outside hitter Laura Jones. The All-American spearheads the A&M offense and is averaging 5.62 KPG and is currently No. 2 in the nation with the impressive mark.

Complementing Jones and the Aggie offense is middle blocker Christi Hahn who adds 2.67 KPG and is hitting at a clip of .296.

While A&M has an All-American at the offensive helm, neither the Sooners nor the Aggies are among the upper echelon in the Big 12 in offensive categories. The Aggies average 15.5 KPG with a hitting percentage of .226 compared to the Sooners' 14.05 KPG on a .189 clip.

Defensively, Jones is a presence as well as she is collecting 3.31 digs per game, second on the team. The back row leader for the Aggies is senior Holly Clay who is digging 4.39 balls per game, which ranks first in the Big 12. With the play of Jones and Clay, A&M tops the Big 12 in digs per game with 16.38.

Sophomore middle blocker Kelly Stanton and Hahn lead the A&M charge at the net where the Aggies average 2.45 blocks per game compared to OU's 2.52 blocks per game. Stanton is averaging 0.95 blocks per game while Hahn is adding 0.79 stuffs per game.

Oklahoma will be facing its fifth top-25 opponent of the season Saturday and its third in the last four matches when it squares off against A&M.

The Sooner offense is led by juniors Eliane Santos and Joanna Schmitt. Santos is pounding 4.26 kills per game and hitting at a .267 clip. The transfer from College of Southern Idaho is No. 4 in the Big 12 with her KPG mark.

Schmitt enters the contest after a solid performance against Oral Roberts where she tallied her third double-double of the season with a 22-kill, 10-dig performance. The preseason All-Big 12 selection is pounding 3.21 KPG while collecting 2.08 digs per game for the Sooners.

Setters Julie Chester and Rachel Jackson, running the 6-2 offense, must provide lanes for the Sooner offense as it tries to upset the No. 23 Aggies.

Oklahoma has to take advantage of its edge in blocks per game and needs strong play from middle blockers Santos and Anna Stadel in order to stop Jones and the Aggie offense. Santos owns a team-best 1.31 blocks per game while Stadel is tallying 1.06 stuffs per game.

OU also needs stellar play from libero Hannah Sharp who is directing the back row with 3.14 digs per game. Sharp played solid against Oral Roberts Wednesday and collected a match-high 18 digs.

Next Up For The Sooners
Following Saturday's match, OU will head to Baylor for a 7 p.m. match up in Waco, Texas next Wednesday, Oct. 12. The Sooners will return home to host the Iowa State Cyclones Saturday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. inside the Howard McCasland Field House.

OU vs. A&M Lifetime
The Sooners will be aiming for their first win against the Aggies since 1979, OU's only win over Texas A&M in the all-time series. TAMU leads OU in the all-time series, 30-1.

Last Time Out vs. Aggies
The Aggies and Sooners met twice in 2004 with the Aggies taking both wins. The final meeting of the year came in Norman on Oct. 30. Oklahoma endured a 1-3 loss to the then-No. 15 Aggies. Joanna Schmitt was one of three Sooners to post double-digit kills with 16 while also collecting seven digs. The Aggies were led by their All-American, Laura Jones, who posted 24 kills on a .320 clip.

Oral Roberts Leftovers
The Sooners were unable to snap a six-match losing streak and suffered a 2-3 loss to Oral Roberts, its final non-conference opponent of the season. The Sooners hit at a .182 clip compared to ORU's .279 in a match that marked OU's longest of the season (2:37). Four Sooners hit in double-digit kills with Joanna Schmitt leading the way on a 22-kill, 10-dig performance.

Sooners Against Ranked Opponents
The Sooners will be looking for their first win against a ranked opponent since 1998 (a victory over then-No. 22 Kansas State). Texas will be the 46h ranked opponent OU has played since that streak began.

Jackson Tops The Chart
Junior setter Rachel Jackson set the OU rally-scoring career mark after tallying 12 assists against Texas. Jackson jumped previous leader Jessica Barney (1,908) and currently owns the leading career mark of 1,950 assists.

Sooners Take No. 1 Huskers To Four
Oklahoma became only the third team this season to take No. 1 Nebraska to four games this season in a tough 3-1 loss to the Huskers last week inside the Howard McCasland Field House. In addition, OU was the first team to take Nebraska to four games until No. 7 Missouri did it Wednesday night in a 3-1 loss to the Huskers.

Schmitt Eclipses 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 1,055.

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. 6
After posting 32 aces in her first 15 matches as a Sooner, sophomore transfer Sarah Weiland has already moved into the No. 6 spot on OU's single season list. Weiland leads the Big 12 with 0.65 per game and only needs to 12 more to break the single season aces mark held by Jessica Barney in 2001.

Stadel Has Career Outing
Sophomore Anna Stadel had a career outing in kills (13), attempts (27) and solo blocks (3) while also hitting at an impressive .296 clip. The second-year starter for the Sooners has already tallied five career records through the 2005 season.

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. Adding defensive presence has been true freshman Lacy Barnes.

The following is a look at what each newcomer is contributing:

Eliane Santos - 4.26 kills per game; KPG ranks fourth among all Big 12 players; leads team in blocks with 1.31 per game; third on team in digs with 1.67 per game.

Hannah Sharp - team leader in digs (3.14 per game); Ranks 12th in Big 12 in DPG.

Sarah Weiland - leads Big 12 in aces with 0.63 per game; broke OU and Big 12 record with nine aces against Loyola; averaging 2.28 kills per game.

Lacy Barnes - Only freshman to start this season; averaging 1.71 digs per game this season.

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 five teams in the AVCA Top-25 poll with No. 1 Nebraska leading the charge.

The league played exceptional in non-conference play and owned a mark of 72-19 (.791) against all other conferences. In addition, the Big 12 notched six wins over top-10 teams during the non-conference stretch.

Jackson Breaks Assists Record
Junior Rachel Jackson set a new three-game rally-scoring record with 56 assists against UT-Arlington in the Sooners' home opener. Ironically, Jackson broke her own previous record of 46 that she set last year on the exact same date (Sept. 7) against Oral Roberts.

Sooners Set Team Assists Mark
Led by Rachel Jackson's record-breaking performance against UTA (9/7), OU set a new three-game rally-scoring team assist record of 57. The previous record of 53 was also set last year on the same day (9/7) against Oral Roberts.

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.
st Oral Roberts Wednesday and collected a match-high 18 digs.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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