Volleyball Hangs With No. 1 Huskers In 1-3 Loss

NORMAN, Okla. In an exciting match in front of 759 raucous fans, the Oklahoma volleyball squad took the top-ranked Nebraska Huskers to four games (30-28, 25-30, 29-31, 20-30) in a tough 1-3 loss inside the Howard McCasland Field House Wednesday night. It marked only the third time this season that the No. 1 Huskers had been taken to more than three games in a match. In addition, the Sooners are the only Big 12 team to take NU to four games this season.

Oklahoma, still searching for its first Big 12 win, fell to 5-8 and 0-5 in the Big 12 while Nebraska pushed its perfect record to 12-0 and 4-0 in conference action.

“I saw a lot of great things tonight,” head coach Santiago Restrepo said. “We're competing at a much higher level with a lot better consistency. I know that we're getting better and I'm excited to see what our program will continue to do. We gained a lot of confidence tonight after hanging tough with the top team in the nation.”

Boxscore: NU 3, OU 1 | 2005 Season Stats

The Sooners jumped on the board first with an ace by Julie Chester in the first set. The only time the Sooners trailed in the was for a short time at 16-15. OU regained momentum off of a Sarah Weiland kill and took the first game from the Huskers 30-28, when another Weiland kill sealed the game.

In game two, the Sooners jumped out to a 2-1 lead, but would never lead again as the Huskers took the second frame, 30-25. Game three was a back-and-forth set. NU took the first point and built a lead as high as 15-9, but OU rallied back to tie it up at 29 after a kill by Eliane Santos. The Huskers claimed the next two points and the game at 31-29 off a Melissa Elmer kill and an attack error by OU's Anna Stadel.

The Huskers broke out into the fourth game with strong momentum and didn't trail again after dropping the first point. Nebraska claimed the game, 30-20, and the match.

Offensively, the Sooners posted their best hitting percentage of the Big 12 season with a .229 clip against a Nebraska squad that posts the best block per game average in the nation (4.35) and had not allowed a hitting percentage that high all season. Oklahoma had a well-balanced attack in the match with three Sooners hitting in double-digit kills.

Santos posted a season-high clip of .457 while pounding a match-high 21 kills. Weiland added 12 kills while senior Gabriela Tonon put away 10 kills at the net on a .368 clip, a career high for the outside hitter. Sophomore Anna Stadel also added an offensive presence with nine kills on a .438 clip.

Continuing to run the 6-2 offense, setters Chester and Rachel Jackson contributed the bulk of OU's 58 assists, a season high in a four-game match. Jackson had 31, while Chester tallied 25.

At the net, Oklahoma had an impressive night against the No. 1 offense in the Big 12. Stadel stuffed the Huskers for two block solos and six block assists. Junior Joanna Schmitt added five block assists against the NU offense. Oklahoma finished with 11 total blocks.

In the back row, sophomore Hannah Sharp was solid with a match-high 14 digs while Schmitt added to OU's total of 44 with nine digs of her own.

Oklahoma will play its second straight ranked opponent when it takes on No. 23 Texas this Saturday, Oct. 1 at 6:30 p.m in Austin, Texas. The Longhorns (8-2, 5-1 Big 12) bring momentum after sweeping No. 16 Kansas State Wednesday night in Manhattan, Kan.

Volleyball Hangs With No. 1 Huskers In 1-3 Loss

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Volleyball Hangs With No. 1 Huskers In 1-3 Loss

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