Volleyball Rolls Over Baylor, 3-1

NORMAN, Okla. Snapping its five match losing streak, the Oklahoma volleyball team claimed its second Big 12 win of the season with a 3-1 (30-14, 22-30, 30-17, 30-19) victory over the Baylor Bears inside the Howard McCasland Field House Saturday night. The Sooners improved their season record to 7-20 and 2-16 in the Big 12 while the Bears dropped to 14-16 overall and 5-13 in league play.

“We did a great job of finishing out this match,” head coach Santiago Restrepo said. “I'm so pleased because they have been working extremely hard in practice and haven't given up. It was a great team performance tonight and one of the most complete matches we have put together all season.”

Boxscore: OU 3, BU 1 | 2005 Season Stats

The Sooners turned in one of their best performances of the season, hitting at a .247 clip in the four-game match and holding the Bears to a .025 clip. In addition, Oklahoma outdug the Bears, who are in the top half of the Big 12 in digs, 54-43.

Oklahoma wasted no time getting on the board and took a 9-0 lead in the first frame. The Sooners held the Bears to a -.083 clip while hitting at an impressive .405 mark to cruise to a 30-14 victory in game one.

The Sooners were unable to sustain their momentum in the second game as Baylor jumped out to a 20-12 lead. OU rallied to close it to within three at 24-21, but was unable to gain a lead as BU took its only game of the match, 30-22.

In the third game, Oklahoma trailed 2-1, but would take the lead and never lose it as the Sooners rolled to a 30-17 victory behind a defense that held the Bears to a .000 hitting percentage.

Finally, the Sooners closed out the match with a 30-19 victory after trailing 6-4 to begin the final set.

Oklahoma was paced offensively by multiple Sooners, but sophomore Sarah Weiland turned in a career performance with 22 kills on a .267 clip. Weiland also tallied a career high at the net with seven block assists. The Big 12 leader in aces per game recorded three aces from behind the line and is now tied with former Sooner Jessica Barney (2001) for most aces in a single season with 43.

Other contributors to the Sooner offense included junior Eliane Santos who pounded 15 kills on a career high .571 clip while junior Joanna Schmitt added 12 kills. Senior Gabriela Tonon followed with 10 kills on a career high .381 clip.

Sophomore Julie Chester setter turned in one of her best performances of the season and was the leader behind OU's strong offensive production. Chester posted 56 of OU's 65 assists on the night and also added seven digs for the defense.

The defensive effort was led by Santos who also set a career high with 11 block assists to add to the team total of 12.5 total blocks. Junior Anna Monsen led the back row effort with 16 digs while Schmitt followed with nine.

The Sooners will close out the regular season next week with its final two matches. OU will take on No. 10 Texas in its final home match of the season next Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m. inside the Howard McCasland Field House. It will also mark Senior Night for seniors Jennifer Adams and Gabriela Tonon.

Oklahoma will finish the regular season with a trip to Manhattan, Kan., next Saturday to take on the Kansas State Wildcats at 2 p.m.