Sooners Meet Texas Tech Tonight

NORMAN, Okla. - The Oklahoma volleyball squad (5-5, 0-2) is looking to get its first Big 12 win of the season when it heads to Lubbock, Texas for a road match against the Texas Tech Red Raiders (6-5, 0-2) Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m.

Tech enters the contest on a three-match losing skid after dropping consecutive matches to Kansas State (0-3) and Baylor (1-3) preceded by a Boise State loss in the Red Raider Round Up Tournament.

Statistically, both teams are even as they battle for their first Big 12 win of the season. The Sooners average 14.56 kills per game to Tech's 14.85 KPG. In the back row, the Red Raiders own the advantage with a 14.76 dig per game mark while OU collects 12.47 per game. In the preseason Big 12 poll, the Sooners were picked ninth while the Red Raiders were chosen to finish at the following spot, No. 10.

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

Rice and No. 17 Kansas State have been common opponents between both teams. KSU swept the Sooners and Wildcats in successive matches last week while Rice went 1-1 against the schools. Oklahoma suffered a 2-3 loss to the Owls in the opening round of the Dome Rally Tournament while playing without preseason All-Big 12 selection Joanna Schmitt. The Red Radiers also went five matches against Rice with the match turning in Tech's favor, 3-2, in Houston.

Oklahoma is 13-33 lifetime against the Red Raiders, but OU has taken the last two out of three. In Lubbock, the Sooners are 2-12 with Tech claiming the past seven straight on its home floor.

As a team, Tech's strengths remain in its back row defense and serving. TTU is fifth in the Big 12 in digs with 14.76 per game, while they rank seventh in the league in aces with a 1.51 mark.

The leader for the Red Raiders on the back row is senior Desiree Batista who is averaging 4.00 digs per game which is good for sixth among the Big 12. Batista tallied 19 digs in the four-game loss to Baylor last Wednesday. The former outside hitter has made the switch to the libero this season.

Adding defensive presence at the net are middle blockers Jamye Pauley and Brianna Florus who average 1.05 blocks per game each.

Tech's number one option offensively is junior transfer Phillister Sang who is pounding 4.95 kills per game, which ranks third among the conference in all matches this season. However, in conference matches the outside hitter is only tallying 3.86 per game.

Adding additional offensive presence to the Tech lineup is fellow junior outside hitter Kiley Lyons who is putting away 2.26 per game, but only hitting at a 1.07 clip.

Oklahoma will have its full lineup this Wednesday when it takes on the Red Raiders. Junior Joanna Schmitt returned to the OU lineup as its starting outside hitter last Saturday for the first time since injuring her ankle six matches ago. Schmitt was successful upon her return, pounding 12 kills while also collecting eight digs in the five-game loss to Kansas.

The Sooners will need the strong play of middle blocker Eliane Santos who leads the Sooners with 4.82 kills per game while owning a hitting percentage of .224. Santos has pounded double-digit kills in every contest since entering the Sooner lineup six matches ago.

Santos also adds defensive presence while leading the team in blocks with 1.36 per game and collecting 2.32 digs per game, which ranks second on the team. Santos is coming off an impressive defensive match where she tallied four solo blocks against Kansas, setting an OU five-game rally-scoring record.

Sophomore libero, Hannah Sharp, leads the back row defense with 3.36 digs per game which ranks tenth among conference players.

After taking on the Red Raiders, Oklahoma will head back to Norman for a two-match home stand. Oklahoma will face Colorado this Saturday, Sept. 24 inside the Howard McCasland Field House with the first serve set at 7 p.m. Currently, CU is 4-3 on the year with an 0-2 mark in conference play. The Buffaloes will take on No. 8 Missouri before facing the Sooners. Following the CU match, Oklahoma will host No. 1 and undefeated Nebraska next Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m.

Last Time Out vs. Texas Tech
Oklahoma faced Texas Tech in its second meeting of the year on Nov. 10 in Norman. The Sooners came out on top with a five-game victory (30-28, 31-33, 29-31, 31-29, 15-8) over the Red Raiders. It marked the second straight season that OU defeated Tech in Norman. The unsung hero of the night was Anna Monsen who tallied 21 digs which set an OU rally-scoring record.

Schmitt Breaks 1,000 Mark
In her first match back as the Sooners' starting outside hitter 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 1,002.

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 this past Saturday. 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 Up To No. 6 On Career List
After posting 22 aces in her first 10 matches as a Sooner, sophomore transfer Sarah Weiland has already moved into the No. 6 spot on OU's career aces list. Weiland leads the Big 12 with 0.65 per game and only needs to 22 more to break the single season aces mark held by Jessica Barney in 2001.

Stadel's Career Night
Sophomore Anna Stadel had a career outing against Kansas (9/17). The middle blocker posted career bests 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 - 44.82 kills per game; leads team in blocks with 1.36 per game; second on team in digs with 2.32 per game.

Hannah Sharp - team leader in digs (3.36 per game); Ranks 10th in Big 12 in DPG.

Sarah Weiland - leads Big 12 in aces with 0.65 per game; broke OU and Big 12 record with nine aces against Loyola; averaging 2.41 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 six teams in the AVCA Top-25 poll with No. 1 Nebraska leading the charge.

In addition, the Big 12 has beaten 11 teams within the top 25 and six top-10 teams. The league owns a current mark of 671-19 (.789) 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 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. 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.

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 Ninth In Big 12
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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