Volleyball Hosts No. 22 K-State Tonight

NORMAN, Okla. - Gaining momentum from its recent sweep of UT-San Antonio, the Oklahoma volleyball team opens up Big 12 play this week. The conference action begins this Wednesday, Sept. 14 inside the Howard McCasland Field House when the Sooners host the 22nd-ranked Kansas State Wildcats (8-1).

First serve is set for 7 p.m. with the doors opening an hour and a half before tip.

Wednesday has been selected as Big 12 Conference Night. All volleyball fans in attendance will receive a free 2005 OU volleyball magnet, while the first 250 will be given an OU foam finger. In addition, one lucky fan will receive a $25 gift certificate to be used at the Big 12 Online store.

Match Notes (PDF) | 2005 Season Stats | Live Stats

The Sooners, owning a record of 5-3, were picked to finish ninth in the Big 12 preseason poll by the conference coaches. The Wildcats, tabbed to finish sixth in the conference preseason poll, will be the second ranked opponent the Sooners have faced this season (the other was then-No. 19 Notre Dame).

KSU arrives in Norman on the heels of its first loss of the season. After rattling off eight straight wins, the Wildcats suffered a four-game loss to No. 5 Minnesota this past Saturday in the finals of the Varney's Kansas State Invitational.

KSU has advanced to the NCAA tournament in each of the last nine seasons and has reloaded its talent after losing four letterwinners from last year's squad that advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament and produced a season mark of 20-11.

Offensively, senior right side hitter Agata Rezende and junior outside hitter Sandy Werner have taken over the scoring duties after the graduation of All-American Vali Hejjas.

Rezende leads the team in kills and is averaging 4.36 per game while hitting at an impressive .406 clip. She ranks fourth among all Big 12 players in hitting percentage and sixth among all conference players in kills per game. Werner adds offensive balance with an average of 3.50 kills per game.

Quarterbacking the KSU offense that owns a team hitting percentage of .257 is sophomore setter Stacey Spiegelberg. Spiegelberg replaced former three-time All-Big 12 performer Gabby Guerre and ranks third in the Big 12 with a 13.18 per game average.

At the net, the Wildcats are led by the returning duo of Joy Hamlin and Megan Kroeker. Hamlin, a junior middle blocker, posts a 1.53 per game block average, ranking third in the Big 12. Fellow middle blocker Kroker adds 1.07 blocks per game for the Wildcats.

Defensively, last year's Big 12 Libero of the Year, Angie Lastra, leads the way. In only her second season with the Wildcats, Lastra leads her team in digs with 4.21 per game.

The Sooners enter Big 12 action after facing tough competition in the Dome Rally this past weekend in San Antonio, Texas. OU went 2-1 in the final weekend of non-conference play, dropping matches to Rice (2-3) and No. 19 Notre Dame (0-3) before sweeping UTSA on Sunday.

The emergence of junior transfer Eliane Santos has been significant to the Sooners. Since entering the lineup last Wednesday, the 6-2 middle blocker is averaging 5.21 kills per game through four matches. Santos has also contributed defensively with a team high 1.36 blocks per game and 2.71 digs per game, which ranks second on the team.

Sophomore Hannah Sharp continues to lead the OU defense with 3.82 digs per game while junior Anna Monsen and freshman Lacy Barnes are averaging 1.86 and 1.87 DPG, respectively.

Oklahoma is looking to pick up its first win against KSU in six years, where the Wildcats have rattled off 12 straight. However, OU owns the all-time series with a mark of 40-21-1.

Following the K-State match up, Oklahoma will travel to Kansas on Saturday for its first road Big 12 match of the season. The first serve against the Jayhawks is set for 1 p.m. inside the Horejsi Family Athletics Center in Lawrence, Kan.

OU In Conference Openers
Oklahoma owns a mark of 1-8 in conference openers with the lone win coming against Iowa State in 2002. Second-year head coach Santiago Restrepo will be looking for his first conference opening win. In his first season, Restrepo and the Sooners suffered a loss to Texas Tech that snapped the school's best start in history (8-0).

Sooners vs. Ranked Opponents
The Sooners will be looking for their first win against a ranked opponent since 1998. Ironically, the win came against No. 22 Kansas State Oct. 31, 1998. The Sooners will again face No. 22 Kansas State this Wednesday for a chance to break the streak.

Since that win in 1998, OU has faced 42 ranked opponents. The latest was this past weekend when the Sooners dropped a four-game match to then-No. 19 Notre Dame.

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, who has started the past three matches.

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

Eliane Santos - 45.21 kills per game; leads team in blocks with 1.36 per game; second on team in digs with 2.71 per game

Hannah Sharp - team leader in digs (3.82 per game); Ranks seventh in Big 12 in DPG; tallied 20 digs in OU's last match

Sarah Weiland - leads Big 12 in aces with 0.77 per game; broke OU and Big 12 record with nine aces against Loyola; averaging 2.46 kills per game

Lacy Barnes - Only freshman to start this season; tallied first double-digit digs mark (10) in OU's last game; averaged 2.1 digs per game in Dome Rally Tournament

Sooners Breaking Records
With only four matches under their belt through the young 2005 season, the Oklahoma volleyball squad has broken or tied a number of team and individual rally scoring records. Below is a list of the records:

Individual
Three Games
Kills - 19 Santos vs. UTA (9/7/05)
Assists - 56 Jackson vs. UTA (9/7/05)

Four Games
Aces - 9 Weiland vs. Loyola (9/2/05)
Kills - 23 Schmitt vs. Loyola (9/2/05)

Team
Four Games
Aces - 17 vs. Loyola (9/2/05)
Assists - 57 vs. UTA (9/7/05)

Career Records
Four Games
Digs - 638 Schmitt vs. TCU (8/27)

Stadel Shatters Career Clip
Sophomore Anna Stadel shattered her career hitting percentage against then-No. 19 Notre Dame in the Dome Rally Tournament this past weekend. The middle blocker posted a .667 mark while pounding seven kills on nine attempts with only one error. The middle blocker's previous career high was .478 set against Texas A&M last season.

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 New 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 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. 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 last weekend against Indiana.

Barnes Makes Sooner Debut
Freshman Lacy Barnes made her debut in the Sooner lineup at OU's home opener against UTA. Barnes, the only freshman to play in the match, showed promise adding five digs for the Sooner defense and adding one assist for the Oklahoma offense.

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 New 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 New 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.

McCasland Field House Face Lift
This past summer the Howard McCasland Field House underwent a $6 million facelift that included a complete interior renovation comprised of a resanded and repainted floor with four efficient practice courts and chair-back seating that offers fans more comfort. In addition, the entire facility was repainted and improvements were made to the HVAC system, sound system, lighting and scoreboards. The Sooners have also enjoyed renovations done to the training room as well as an upgrade to both teams' locker rooms.

The team practices and competes in this historic building, located directly north of Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The Howard McCasland Field House, constructed in 1928, was once the home of the men's basketball team and was the heart of the campus.

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.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Volleyball Hosts No. 22 K-State Tonight

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors