No. 20 Volleyball Heads to Kansas

NORMAN, Okla. - The No. 20 Oklahoma volleyball team will look to get back on track Wednesday as it hits the road for a rematch with the Kansas Jayhawks at 7 p.m. in Lawrence, Kan. The Sooners (17-4, 9-2 Big 12) swept the Jayhawks (10-10, 3-9 Big 12) a little more than two weeks ago in the first meeting in Norman.

The Sooners, who have beaten every team in the Big 12 this season except Nebraska, opened the second-half of the Big 12 season this past Saturday with a close five-game loss to No. 8 Texas.

LIVE STATS
Fans can track live stats of Wednesday night's match on KU's web site at kuathletics.cstv.com.

Live Stats

THE MATCH UP
Oklahoma had its eight-match winning streak, its longest of the season, snapped this past Saturday to No. 8 Texas in Austin, Texas so the Sooners will be looking to start a new win streak when they head to Jayhawk country Wednesday night. Meanwhile, the Jayhawks have won two of their last three contests since playing in Norman earlier this month.

Although KU is coming off a road loss to Texas A&M, the Jayhawks have been strong at home lately as they have won the last two straight home contests against Kansas State and Baylor.

In the first meeting of the season, the Oklahoma offense was on fire as it pounded a .305 clip against the Jayhawks while the Sooner defense limited KU's offense and held it to a .164 hitting percentage.

Despite its recent loss to Texas, the Sooners still sit in second in the Big 12 standings with a 9-2 league record. OU trails only Nebraska, who is No. 1 in the country and owns a perfect 18-0 record this season. The Sooners are one game ahead of Texas and Missouri, who both own an 8-3 conference mark and have suffered a loss to OU this season. The Jayhawks, with a 3-8 Big 12 mark, are tied with Texas Tech for eighth in the Big 12 standings.

Big 12 Standings	Big 12 Record	Overall Record
Nebraska	10-0	18-0
OKLAHOMA	9-2	17-4
Texas	8-3	13-5
Missouri	8-3	14-6
Colorado	7-4	11-7
Iowa State	6-5	14-7
Texas A&M	3-8	10-9
Texas Tech	3-8	10-10
Kansas	3-8	10-10
Baylor	2-9	13-10
Kansas State	1-10	9-12

SCOUTING KANSAS
Head coach Santiago Restrepo earned his first career victory over the Jayhawks earlier this month and will be aiming for the Sooners to get their first win in Lawrence since Nov. 8, 1997.

Headlining the Jayhawk offense are senior outside hitter Jana Correa and preseason All-Big 12 selection Emily Brown. Correa is one of the top hitters in Big 12 play with her 4.54 kills per game (fourth in the Big 12). Correa has been a steady hitter for the Jayhawks this season as she owns a .253 hitting percentage. Correa led KU in the earlier meeting against the Sooners and tallied a team-high 14 kills on a .216 clip.

Brown, who is second on the squad with 3.61 kills per game, also had a strong outing against the Sooners in the last meeting where she tallied a double-double with 13 kills and 15 digs.

As a unit, the offense ranks third in the league with 16.13 kills per game while ranking eighth in the Big 12 in hitting percentage. However, in conference play the Sooners are recording 15.77 kills per game (fourth in the Big 12) compared to KU's 15.21 KPG (seventh in the league).

On the defensive side of the ball, KU is fourth in the Big 12 with 16.11 digs per game, but is only averaging 1.92 blocks per game (last in the Big 12). Brown led the Jayhawks against the Sooners with 15 digs on defense.

SERIES RECORDS
OU leads the all-time series between both squads, 38-25. Kansas has won 15 of the last 17 matches against the Sooners, but Oklahoma snapped a nine-match losing streak to KU with its sweep of the Jayhawks in Norman earlier this year. OU's last victory in Lawrence was a 3-0 victory on Nov. 8, 1997. The Jayhawks hold the slight 14-12 advantage in matches held in Lawrence.

LAST TIME THEY MET
The two squads met in Norman earlier this season as Oklahoma swept the Jayhawks, 30-21, 30-24, 32-30. Freshman Bridget Laplante and senior Joanna Schmitt were huge factors in the Sooner victory as the Oklahoma offense recorded a .305 hitting percentage compared to KU's .164. Laplante recorded a match-high 15 kills on a match-high .452 hitting percentage while recording a double-double with 10 digs. Schmitt was also impressive with her 14 kills and eight digs.

UP NEXT: TEXAS A&M
The Sooners return home for a two-match home stand that begins with Texas A&M on Saturday, Oct. 28. First serve between the Sooners and Aggies is set for 7 p.m. Oklahoma will step out of conference play next week as it will host TCU at 7 p.m. inside the Field House next Tuesday, Oct. 31.

TEXAS IN REVIEW
The second installment of the Red River Rivalry was extremely similar to the first meeting of the season where the Sooners took a 2-0 lead and battled it out for the five-game win in Norman. However, the Longhorns won the second battle after jumping out to a 2-0 against the Sooners in Austin. Oklahoma battled back in the final three games, but couldn't overcome as UT won 30-27, 30-25, 27-30, 25-30, 15-11. The biggest difference in the match was UT's 17 blocks to OU's seven. Once again, Bridget Laplante and Joanna Schmitt highlighted the offense with 21 and 20 kills, respectively.

SCHMITT MAKES HISTORY
Senior Joanna Schmitt reached another milestone as she collected her 1,000th career dig against Texas last week. Schmitt now owns 1,010 career digs and is the only Sooner in OU rally-scoring history with 1,000 digs and 1,000 kills in her career. Additionally, the senior outside hitter is only the fourth player in the 32-year history of the program to accomplish the feat.

SOONER DEFENSE STEPPING UP
The Sooner defense is much improved in its third year under head coach Santiago Restrepo. Last season, the OU defense was holding opponents to a .239 hitting percentage in conference matches, which ranked seventh in the Big 12 Conference. In 2006, the Sooner defense is holding opponents to a .193 clip in league matches, which ranks second. The Sooners only trail No. 1 and undefeated Nebraska, who is holding its opponents to a .144 hitting percentage.

PLAYER TO WATCH: BRIDGET LAPLANTE
The rookie outside hitter was exceptional in the last outing against Kansas where she recorded a match-high 15 kills and notched a double-double after collecting 10 digs. Additionally, Laplante recorded a season-high .452 hitting percentage against the Jayhawks.

Since the last meeting against the Jayhawks which was five matches ago, Laplante is averaging 3.86 KPG on an impressive .315 clip while also collecting 1.95 DPG and adding 0.24 BPG at the net.

In Big 12 play this season, Laplante is second on the squad with 3.63 DPG while collecting 2.07 DPG.

BEST START EVER AFTER 21 MATCHES
With the non-conference and first half of the Big 12 season complete, the Sooners are off to their best start ever in the 32-year history of the program. The previous best record was in 1984 when the Sooners went 15-4 to start off the season. Similarly, OU's 9-2 record in Big 12 play marks its best start in Big 12 history and in any conference play since 1987 when OU opened the season at 9-2 during the Big Eight Conference stretch.

SOONERS MOVE INTO TOP-20
Ranked for the first time in 18 years, the Oklahoma volleyball squad continues to climb up the polls as it received a No. 20 ranking in the latest CSTV/AVCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll released Oct. 23. 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.

SOONERS TOUGH IN BIG 12 ROAD PLAY
Prior to its loss to Texas, the Sooners owned a perfect record in Big 12 road play. Despite its loss, the Sooners still own a 5-1 mark in conference play on the road. OU's last road win was a five-game win over Kansas State. Other Big 12 wins away from home were against Texas A&M, Iowa State, Colorado and Texas Tech.

BIGGEST COME BACK SINCE 2004
OU's victory against Texas Tech marked the first time in two years that Oklahoma rallied to win a match after a 2-0 deficit. OU's last win after a 2-0 deficit was a win over Texas-Pan American on Sept. 4, 2004. During that match, OU had to come back from a 28-30 and 25-30 deficit.

MOST WINS SINCE 1997
With a 17-4 record and the first half of the Big 12 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 9-1 Big 12 mark, it also marks the most league wins since 1997.

SOONERS AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
This season, Oklahoma has upset two top-25 teams in Texas and Missouri. OU's win against 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.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES
Through 21 matches last season Oklahoma owned a 6-15 overall mark and a 1-11 mark in Big 12 play. In 2006, the Sooners have already surpassed last year's win total in conference and overall. A comparison of the stats below shows what a difference a year makes.

Through 20 Matches 2005 2006

Kills per game	14.25	15.99
Assists per game	13.11	14.72
Digs per game	11.99	15.01
Blocks per game	2.82	2.95

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.

* With a come-from-behind 3-2 win, OU beat Texas Tech in Lubbock for the first time since Oct. 18, 1997.

* OU snaps a 14-match losing streak to Kansas State with a 3-2 win over the Wildcats in Manhattan.

* A 12-match losing streak to Missouri is snapped with an upset of the No. 12 Tigers.

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 4.24 kills per game average (fifth in the Big 12) and has recorded 10 double-doubles already this season.

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 13 of its 17 victories this season. Additionally, the squad set a school record with seven consecutive sweeps from Sept. 2 - Sept. 13.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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