Volleyball Heads To Kansas Saturday

NORMAN, Okla. - The Big 12 Conference race will not get any easier for the Oklahoma volleyball team this week as it hits the road for two tough matches against Kansas and Texas Tech. The Sooners head to Lawrence, Kan., this weekend for a match up against the Kansas Jayhawks slated for Saturday, Sept. 17 at 1 p.m. inside the Horejsi Family Athletics Center.

Kansas (9-1, 1-0) arrives with momentum after sweeping No. 15 Texas A&M Wednesday night in Lawrence, Kan. The Jayhawks have been tough to beat on their home court where they have recorded a 7-0 mark this season.

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Oklahoma (5-4, 0-1) arrives on a different note after suffering its first conference loss of the season to No. 22 Kansas State, 0-3, Wednesday night. The Wildcats were the second ranked team Oklahoma faced in less than a week, with then-No. 19 Notre Dame being the other.

The only similar opponents both teams have faced is Alabama. The Jayhawks swept the Crimson Tide in its first home match of the season at the State Farm Jayhawk Classic. Oklahoma and Alabama went head-to-head in the finals of the Hampton Inn Bama Bash, but the Sooners, playing without preseason All-Big 12 selection Joanna Schmitt, suffered a sweep to the Crimson Tide.

In the all-time series between the schools, OU owns the advantage 37-23. However, the Jayhawks have won the past seven straight including the last seven in Lawrence, Kan.

Leading the balanced Jayhawk offense is preseason All-Big 12 middle blocker Josi Lima. The 6-0 senior leads the team in kills with 4.09 per game, which ranks seventh in the Big 12.

KU has two other Jayhawks averaging more than three kills a game with junior outside hitter Jana Correa adding 3.85 a game with and senior outside hitter Paula Caten pounding 3.27 kills per game.

As a unit, the Jayhawks own a hitting percentage of .266 while hitting 16.79 kills per game, which ranks third in the Big 12.

Running the KU offense is senior Andi Rozum, a four-year starter for the Jayhawks. Rozum ranks second among All-Big 12 players with a 14.21 assist per game average.

Kansas also leads the league in service aces with sophomore Emily Brown leading the way with a 0.58 per game average.

Defensively, Kansas is second in the Big 12 in blocks with 3.17 per game with Lima owning a per game mark of 1.21. Brown and Rozum add 1.03 and 1.00 blocks per game, respectively.

Led by junior outside hitter Eliane Santos, the Sooners will be looking for their first conference victory of the season. Santos is leading the team in kills with 5.12 per game while also adding defensive presence with 2.59 digs per game (second on team) and a team-leading 1.29 blocks per game.

OU's preseason All-Big 12 selection Joanna Schmitt made her return to the Sooner lineup Wednesday night against Kansas State after missing the last five matches due to an ankle injury. The junior, who is usually a starter at outside hitter, started as a defensive specialist for Oklahoma instead due to the injury. The Sooners will need Schmitt to play at outside hitter where she averages 4.29 kills per game and an impressive hitting percentage of .448, a team high.

Sophomore Hannah Sharp and the OU defense will look to halt the Jayhawk offensive attack. Sharp owns a team-leading dig per game mark of 3.61, which ranks eighth among every Big 12 player. Also contributing defensively is Schmitt, who tallies 2.43 digs per game.

Besides Santos, Oklahoma will need strong performances from Laura Tomes (0.90 blocks per game) and Anna Stadel (1.00 blocks per game) at the net.

After taking on the Jayhawks, Oklahoma will head to Lubbock, Texas for a contest against Texas Tech (6-4, 0-1) next Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m.

Last Time Out vs. Kansas
OU and KU met twice last year with the Jayhawks owning each outcome. In the last contest, the Sooners traveled to Lawrence on Nov. 6 and suffered a sweep (29-31, 20-30, 20-30) to the Jayhawks. Leading the Sooners was Joanna Schmitt who tallied a match-high 15 kills, but the Jayhawks owned a hitting percentage of .309 behind Paula Caten who also recorded 15 kills.

OU In Conference Road Openers
The Sooners own a 1-8 mark in conference road openers since the inception of the Big 12 (1996). The last time OU won a conference road opener was in 1999 when the Crimson and Cream swept the Iowa State Cyclones. In head coach Santiago Restrepo's first season at OU (2004), OU dropped its Big 12 road opener to Texas Tech in four games.
On Pace For Big 12 Bests
While you won't find them listed among the top of the Big 12, juniors Joanna Schmitt and Eliane Santos certainly are on pace to be there soon. For any Big 12 player to be included among the league stats, she must have participated in 66.7 percent of the team's games.

Santos did not enter the lineup until five matches ago and has been on fire ever since. The middle blocker is averaging 5.12 kills per game, which would rank third among all conference players. Santos has played in the past 15 straight games, but it only accounts for 55 percent of OU's 31 games.

Schmitt, who suffered an ankle injury and missed five matches, owns an impressive clip of .448 which would rank first among Big 12 players. In addition, Schmitt owns a 4.29 kill per game average which would rank fifth in the conference.

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 - 45.12 kills per game; leads team in blocks with 1.29 per game; second on team in digs with 2.59 per game.

Hannah Sharp - team leader in digs (3.61 per game); Ranks seventh in Big 12 in DPG.

Sarah Weiland - leads Big 12 in aces with 0.76 per game; broke OU and Big 12 record with nine aces against Loyola; averaging 2.48 kills per game.

Lacy Barnes - Only freshman to start this season; averaging 1.81 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.

In addition, the Big 12 has beaten nine teams within the top 25 and six top-10 teams. The league owns a current mark of 69-18 (.793) overall.

Stadel Shatters Career Clip
Sophomore Anna Stadel shattered her career hitting percentage against then-No. 19 Notre Dame in the Dome Rally Tournament last 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 Assist 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. 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.

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

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