No. 24 OU Takes Win Streak to Tech

NORMAN, Okla. - Moving up a spot in this week's poll, The No. 24 Oklahoma volleyball squad hits the road this week for a pair of Big 12 matches as it puts its five-match winning streak to the test. Oklahoma will travel south to Lubbock, Texas this Wednesday as it faces Texas Tech (9-7, 2-5 Big 12) at 7 p.m.

TIME CHANGE
Oklahoma will wrap up its road stretch against Kansas State this Saturday at 1 p.m. in Manhattan, Kan. The match, originally scheduled for 7 p.m., was moved due to the Kansas State football game.

LIVE STATS
Live stats of OU's match against Texas Tech will be available at texastech.cstv.com.

Live Stats

THE MATCH UP
Texas Tech enters Wednesday night's match on a roll after recording its second Big 12 victory of the season, a 3-2 win over Texas A&M in College Station last weekend. The Red Raiders have won two of their last three with a victory over Kansas, whom the Sooners swept this weekend, and a three-game loss to then-No. 19 Missouri.

Oklahoma will be searching for its first road win in Lubbock, Texas since Oct. 18, 1997. Since that win, TTU has claimed the last eight matches in Lubbock.

Statistically, the Sooners own the advantage in every category except for service aces where the Red Raiders lead the Big 12 with 2.00 aces per game.

However, Oklahoma will face a tough challenge in defending Tech's Philister Sang, last year's Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, as she is second in the conference with an average of 4.61 kills per game. She's coming off a 28-kill performance against Texas A&M.

SCOUTING TEXAS TECH
Texas Tech enters Wednesday night's match with a 9-7 overall mark and a 2-5 record in league play. The Red Raiders went on a five-match winning streak to finish out the non-conference portion of the season, but played a tough-opening Big 12 schedule where they went on a four-match losing skid. After suffering losses to then-No. 5 Texas, Colorado, Baylor and No. 1 Nebraska, Tech has rebounded with wins against Kansas and Texas A&M.

Offensively, the Red Raiders are highlighted by previously mentioned Philister Sang. The senior outside hitter and last year's Big 12 Newcomer of the Year is leading the squad with her 4.61 kills per game on a .255 hitting percentage. Teaming with Sang offensively is junior middle blocker Amy Charlebois, who is pounding 2.64 KPG on a .260 clip.

As a unit, the Red Raiders hitting percentage (.204) and kills per game (14.02) rank last in the Big 12. However, Tech's biggest strength is behind they line where it is leading the conference with 1.97 aces per game.

Defensively, the Red Raiders are averaging 2.71 blocks per game (seventh in the Big 12) and collecting 13.73 digs per game (last in the conference).

Leading the stuffs at the net is Charlebois, who leads the team with 1.34 blocks per game (ninth in the league), while fellow middle blocker Alicia Ostmeyer is contributing 1.19 blocks per game.

In the back row, libero Jenn Harrell is collecting a team-best 3.09 digs per game while outside hitters Sang (2.92 DPG) and Kiley Lyons (2.62 DPG) are added defensive help.

SERIES RECORDS
Texas Tech leads the all-time series 34-14, including a 13-2 mark when the match is played in Lubbock, Texas. The Sooners will be searching for their first win in eight matches in Lubbock, but won the last contest against the Red Raiders on Oct. 26, 2005 in Norman.

LAST TIME THEY MET
Oklahoma and Texas Tech split the two matches last season with OU winning the final meeting in Norman in a close five-game victory (30-25, 30-32, 30-21, 27-30, 15-13). The Sooner defense was the highlight of the night as it set three different rally-scoring records as OU recorded 22 blocks with Anna Stadel and Eliane Santos adding 10 block assists each. Offensively, Oklahoma had five hitters tally double-digit kills while Tech's Philister Sang was impressive for the Red Raiders with a match-high 27 kills.

UP NEXT: KANSAS STATE
The Sooners will continue their road stretch on Saturday as they head to Manhattan, Kan. to take on the Kansas State Wildcats (8-9, 0-7 Big 12). First serve is set for 1 p.m. OU will return home next Wed., Oct. 18 to host No. 15 Missouri (13-4, 7-1 Big 12) at the Field House at 7 p.m.

KANSAS IN REVIEW
The Sooners extended their winning streak to five as they notched their 12th sweep of the season with a 3-0 win (30-21, 30-24, 32-20). In the first two games, KU only led once (at 1-0) and Oklahoma came out on top after a come-from-behind win in game three. Bridget Laplante and Joanna Schmitt highlighted the offense with 15 and 14 kills, respectively.

SOONERS MOVE TO NO. 24 IN CSTV/AVCA TOP-25 POLL
Ranked for the first time in 18 years, the Oklahoma volleyball squad moved up one spot to No. 24 in the latest CSTV/AVCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll released Oct. 9. This season marks the first time the OU volleyball program has been ranked since 1988, when it finished with a 23-9 overall mark and 8-4 record in Big Eight play. Prior to this season's ranking, 1988 marked the only season in the 32-year history of the OU volleyball program that it was ranked in the top 25 poll.

OU NATIONALLY
Oklahoma has been one of the top teams in the NCAA in various offensive categories. Below is a look at where Oklahoma stands in the NCAA rankings. These are the current rankings as of Oct. 10, 2006.

NCAA Team Rankings

Category	Stat	Rank
Kills per game	16.23	28th
Blocks per game	3.18	18th

NCAA Individual Rankings

Assists per game	Stat	Rank
Rachel Jackson	13.74	4th
Hitting Percentage
Laura Tomes	.416	16th

SOONERS PERFECT ON BIG 12 ROAD
Oklahoma will put its perfect 3-0 Big 12 road record to the test this week after notching road victories over Texas A&M, Iowa State and Colorado so far this season. Ironically, all three squads were receiving votes in the top-25 poll the week that OU swept them.

BEST START
17 matches into the season, the Sooners are off to their best start since 1984 when OU went 14-3 to start off the season. Additionally, OU's 6-1 record in Big 12 play marks its best start in Big 12 history. The last time OU started off the season 6-1 or better in conference play was in 1989 when the Sooners opened the Big Eight Conference stretch with a 6-1 mark.

PLAYER TO WATCH: RACHEL JACKSON
The senior setter has been an integral part of OU's turn-around season, offensively. Jackson is leading the offense to the conference's second-best hitting percentage. OU's team clip of .256 is a vast improvement from last year's final hitting percentage of .180.

Additionally, Jackson is leading the Big 12 in conference only matches with her 14.08 kills per game. Her overall assist average of 13.74 currently ranks sixth in the country.

Jackson, the career rally-scoring leader in assists, set a five-game rally scoring record with her 73 assists against Texas.

MOST WINS SINCE 1997
With a 14-3 record and a little more than a half of the season completed, Oklahoma has already accumulated more wins than any other squad since the 1997 team. That season marked OU's last trip to the NCAA Tournament as the team finished with a 20-13, and 13-7 mark in Big 12 play. With a current 6-1 Big 12 mark, it also marks the most league wins since 1997.

FIRST GAME = VICTORY
It has been crucial for OU to jump out on top of its opponent this season as it has won 13 of its 14 matches this season after clinching the first game. In the Sooners' three lone losses this season, they were unsuccessful in the first frame. Colorado marked the only squad OU dropped its first game to, but rallied back for the win.

BLOCK PARTY
Traditionally when people think of the top blocking team in the Big 12, perennial powerhouse Nebraska comes to mind. However, Oklahoma is taking over that title so far this season as the Sooners are leading all Big 12 schools in league matches with a 3.60 block per game average.

SOONER SWEEPS
The Oklahoma volleyball team is off to one of its best starts in history and not only is the squad winning, it is doing it in convincing fashion. Oklahoma has swept in 12 of its 14 victories this season. Additionally, the squad set a school record with seven consecutive sweeps from Sept. 2 - Sept. 13.

MAKING HISTORY
The 2006 version of the Oklahoma volleyball squad has been all about making history and defying the odds. Below is a list of the accomplishments the squad has achieved this season.

* Win over then-No. 8 Texas marks first -time ever OU has beaten Texas in volleyball and the first time since 1998 that OU beat a top-25 team.

* A sweep of Texas A&M marked the first time OU had beaten Texas A&M since 1979 and its first victory ever in College Station. It was also the first time in the history of the Big 12 that OU collected an opening Big 12 road win.

* Oklahoma beat Colorado for the first time in Boulder since Oct. 13, 1988

* OU cracked the top-25 polls on Oct. 2 for the first time since 1988.

* The Sooners victory over Kansas marked the first time OU won against the Jayhawks since Nov. 8, 1997.

SOONERS AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
OU's win against No. 8 Texas marked the school's first win over a ranked team since 1998 (a victory over then-No. 22 Kansas State). Prior to OU's win, the Sooners had faced 53 ranked opponents, but couldn't pull out a win over any of the top-25 opponents.

SOONER HITTING PERCENTAGE
Another goal for the Sooner squad this season was improved hitting percentage and it looks like the extra offseason work paid off for the team. Last season, Oklahoma finished 10th in the Big 12 with a .180 clip. Currently the Sooners own a team hitting percentage of .256, second in the Big 12, and have three Sooners hitting .300 or better.

SCHMITT APPROACHING HISTORICAL MARK
OU's career rally-scoring leader in kills and digs, Joanna Schmitt, is approaching another career milestone. The senior outside hitter is approaching the 1,000 kill/1,000 dig career mark that only four other Sooners have held in OU history. Schmitt needs 43 more digs this season to reach the 1,000 plateau. While Schmitt will become the fourth Sooner in history to accomplish the feat, she would become the first Sooner in the rally-scoring era to reach the 1,000 kill and dig mark.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES
Through 17 matches, last season Oklahoma owned a 5-12 overall mark and an 0-8 mark in Big 12 play. In 2006, the Sooners have already surpassed last year's win total in conference and overall and a comparison of the stats below shows what a difference a year makes.

Through 17 Matches 2005 2006

Kills per game	14.16	16.023
Assists per game	13.03	14.95
Digs per game	11.77	15.04
Blocks per game	2.57	3.18

CONSISTENT TOMES
Entering the season head coach Santiago Restrepo said Laura Tomes had made the biggest strides during the offseason in terms of her strength and power. So it is no surprise to Restrepo that Tomes is having a breakout season during her senior campaign.

Tomes has been the Sooners most consistent hitter this season as she is leading the team with a .416 clip in addition to a 3.33 kill per game average. Not only does Tomes lead the OU team, she is second in the Big 12 through all matches with her impressive clip and is currently ranked seventh in the nation with her hitting percentage.

SEEING DOUBLE
Outside hitter Joanna Schmitt has been the Sooners' go-to-girl this season. It is no surprise as the senior captain is leading the team with a 4.33 kills per game average and has recorded seven double-doubles already this season.

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER NOTES

#1 JULIE CHESTER
Battled for a starting setter spot during the preseason but has seen minimal playing time this season ... Only start of the season came against Texas Southern where she recorded 39 assists in three games.

#2 RACHEL JACKSON
Leading conference with 14.08 assists per game in Big 12 matches ... Set an OU five-game rally-scoring record with 73 assists in OU's win over No. 8 Texas .... Leading the squad to the second-best hitting percentage in the Big 12.

#3 ANNA STADEL
A consistent starter for the Sooners last season but playing time has diminished this season ... Has started in six of OU's matches this season ... Saw action in one game against Kansas where she recorded one kill on a .500 clip.

#4 LAURA TOMES
Most improved player this season ... Her .416 clip ranks second among all Big 12 players ... Most consistent hitter for the Sooners this season.

#5 LACY BARNES
The DS pounded the match-winning ace in OU's sweep of Iowa State ... Waiting her turn to start behind veteran defensive specialists Anna Monsen and Hannah Sharp.

#6 SARAH WEILAND
Outside hitter is only Sooner to start every match this season ... An offensive threat averaging 1.88 KPG on a .222 clip.

#8 JOANNA SCHMITT
Offensive leader for the Sooners ... Owns seven double-doubles on the season ... Leads team with 4.33 kills per game ... Has almost twice as many attacks as any other Sooner.

#9 BRIDGET LAPLANTE
A huge contribution to this year's lineup ... Has really turned it on in Big 12 play ... Made the difference in OU's victory over No. 8 Texas with her first career double-double (20 kills, 12 digs) .. Recorded second double-double against Kansas.

#10 ANNA MONSEN
Set a school record with 30 digs against the talented No. 8 Texas offense ... Leads team with 4.61 digs per game.

#11 FRANCIE EKWEREKWU
Planning to redshirt this season.

#12 ELIANE SANTOS
2006 Preseason All-Big 12 Selection ... OU's leading force at the net with 1.53 BPG ... Recorded 11 blocks in Texas victory.

#13 MARIANA BLUM
Two-time juco All-American at Hutchinson Community College ... Still adjusting to NCAA Division I style of volleyball ... Often subs in for her serving.

#14 HANNAH SHARP
A defensive replacement sub that has played in every game this season ... Recorded 14 aces this season.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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