Volleyball Hosts TCU Tonight

NORMAN, Okla. - The No. 17 Oklahoma volleyball team will take a break from Big 12 play this Tuesday as it hosts TCU at 7 p.m. inside the McCasland Field House on Halloween Night. For the third straight year, head coach Santiago Restrepo has lined up a non-conference opponent during OU's bye week in Big 12 play. Tuesday night's match up will mark the third straight year that OU and TCU have played each other.

PROMOTIONS
Sooner volleyball fans are encouraged to wear their Halloween costume for Tuesday night's match up. Prizes will be awarded throughout the match for the best Halloween costumes and every child dressed in a Halloween costume will receive free candy.

Live Stats | Live O-Zone

TICKETS
Tickets still remain for the match against TCU. Admission is $7 for adults and $5 for children. All OU students are admitted free with an OU ID.

LIVE STATS
As usual live stats of the entire match will be available for viewing at SoonerSports.com. A live video broadcast of the match will also be available for O-Zone viewers.

THE MATCH UP
The Sooners and Horned Frogs are meeting for only the third time in the series history, but both teams are very familiar with each other as the previous two meetings have come in the last two straight years.

Oklahoma did well during the non-conference portion of this season and won its final six straight as it will be looking to extend its non-conference win streak to seven.

TCU will face Oklahoma at the end of its three-match road trip as it dropped a 3-1 match to UNLV on Friday night and another 3-1 match to San Diego State on Sunday night before traveling to Norman to take on the Sooners. TCU's last road victory was a sweep of the Air Force Academy on Sept. 22

SCOUTING TCU
TCU owns a 17-9 overall record and has only played one similar opponent to Oklahoma. TCU handed North Texas a 3-2 loss in Denton while the Sooners swept the Mean Green earlier this season.

TCU's senior middle blocker Anna Vaughn is the go-to girl on the Horned Frog offense that is averaging over 15 kills a game while the team hitting percentage is .239. Vaughn leads the squad with 3.55 kills per game on an extremely consistent clip of .349 while also making a presence on the defensive side with a team-best 1.06 blocks per game. Vaughn has been very successful against the Sooners in the two prior meetings in 2004 and 2005.

Defensively, the Horned Frogs are recording 2.46 blocks with Kortney Edwards adding 1.04 blocks per game. TCU is also collecting 15.62 digs per game with defensive specialist Calli Corley leading the way with 4.58 digs per game.

SERIES RECORDS
The all-time series between the two squads is tied at 1-1. TCU won the first-ever match between the two teams with a 3-1 victory in Norman in 2005. In 2005, the Sooners opened the season in Fort Worth against TCU and handed the Horned Frogs a 3-1 loss.

LAST TIME THEY MET
Oklahoma and TCU met in the season-opener in 2005 with Oklahoma winning the match, 3-1 (30-24, 23-30, 30-22, 30-19). Senior Joanna Schmitt led the way with a double-double which included a match-high 18 kills and team-high 13 digs while TCU's Anna Vaughn guided TCU with 15 kills and three solo blocks and three block assists on defense. The key in the match was OU's 12 team blocks while the Sooner defense held TCU to a .119 hitting percentage.

UP NEXT: NO. 1 NEBRASKA
After hosting TCU, Oklahoma steps back into Big 12 play in a big way. The Sooners face their toughest opponent of the season in No. 1 and undefeated Nebraska. The Sooners and Huskers will meet Saturday night at 7 p.m. in Lincoln, Neb., for a top-25 showdown. The Sooners, who have beaten every team in the Big 12 this season except Nebraska, will be looking for their first win over the Huskers since 1997. The match will be televised on a tape-delay on CSTV Sunday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m.

TEXAS A&M IN REVIEW
The Sooners swept the Aggies for the second straight time this season and earned their first win ever over TAMU in Norman with a 3-0 (30-27, 30-15, 30-19) victory. The Oklahoma defense held the Aggies to a .075 hitting percentage and allowed no TAMU player to hit in double figures. Additionally, the OU offense was clicking on all cylinders as it recorded a .345 hitting percentage with four Sooners tallying double-digit kills. Pacing the Sooners was senior Laura Tomes who pounded a match-high 13 kills on a .345 hitting percentage while Bridget Laplante and Eliane Santos added 11 kills each and Joanna Schmitt pounded 10.

RESTREPO IN NON-CONFERENCE PLAY
Head coach Santiago Restrepo owns a 21-7 non-conference mark at OU and has the Sooners currently on a six-match non-conference winning streak. The Sooners closed out the non-conference portion of the schedule this season with an 8-2 record, its only losses against then-No. 9 Wisconsin and a five-game loss to Arkansas in OU's season opener.

SOONERS ON PACE FOR BEST TURN AROUND EVER
The Sooner volleyball program has undergone a complete turnaround from the 2005 season. OU finished the season with a 7-22 overall mark and 2-18 record in Big 12 play. However, the Sooners have done a complete 180 in 2006 and own a 19-4 record and 11-2 mark in the conference with eight matches remaining. The Sooners are on pace to have the best one-year turnaround in Big 12 history. Below is a look at the best one-year improvements in the conference:

School Years Improvement

Missouri	1999-2000	4-16 to 14-6
Oklahoma	2005-2006	2-18 to 11-2*
Iowa State	2004-2005	1-19 to 9-11
Baylor	1998-1999	7-13 to 12-8

*Sooners still have seven conference matches remaining

SCHMITT MAKES HISTORY
Senior Joanna Schmitt was recognized after the Texas A&M match Saturday night as she recently became a member of the 1,000 dig club. The outside hitter collected her 1,000th career dig against Texas two weeks ago and became the lone OU rally-scoring player to accomplish the feat. Schmitt now owns 1,038 career digs and 1,544 kills and is the only Sooner in rally-scoring history to own 1,000 digs and 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.

SANTOS NAMED BIG 12 CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK
The senior middle blocker was named the Big 12 Co-Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 23, sharing the honor with UT's Destinee Hooker. Santos became the first OU player since 1997 to be named Big 12 Player of the Week.

Santos led nationally-ranked No. 17 Oklahoma to a 2-0 record with victories over Kansas and Texas A&M. She tallied 34.5 points, 23 kills, 11 blocks and three digs in seven games.

On the week, Santos averaged 4.93 points, 3.29 kills and 2.43 blocks in addition to a .378 hitting clip.

SOONERS EYEING 20-WIN SEASON
Oklahoma enters the match against TCU just one win shy of a 20-win season. The last 20-win season for the Sooners was in 1997 when OU finished with a 20-13 overall record. In the 32-year history of the program the Sooners have had 11 20-win seasons.

CHASING BEST BIG 12 RECORD
With seven conference matches remaining, the Sooners are in prime position to own their best regular season Big 12 record ever. OU currently owns an 11-2 Big 12 mark and it's already the second-best Big 12 mark behind the 1997 team that finished 13-7 in the conference.

KEEP MOVING UP
Ranked for the first time in 18 years, the Oklahoma volleyball squad continues to climb up the polls as it received a No. 17 ranking in the latest CSTV/AVCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll released Oct. 30. 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
The Sooners have been tough in Big 12 road play this season with a 6-1 record in Big 12 road play in some of the tougher venues in the conference. OU's lone loss on the road came against No. 8 Texas in a close five-game battle in Austin. The Sooners have racked up other road wins over Texas A&M, Iowa State, Colorado, Texas Tech, Kansas State and Kansas.

MOST WINS SINCE 1997
With a 19-4 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 10-2 Big 12 mark, it also marks the most league wins since 1997 when OU finished with a 13-7 record.

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 23 matches last season Oklahoma owned a 6-17 overall mark and a 1-13 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 23 Matches 2005 2006

Kills per game	14.06	16.01
Assists per game	12.95	14.74
Digs per game	12.26	14.91
Blocks per game	2.76	3.02

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.

* 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.

* Sooners 3-1 win over KU marks first victory in Lawrence since Nov. 8, 1997.

* OU's sweep of Texas A&M marks the first Sooner victory over Texas A&M ever in Norman.

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 4.13 kills per game average (sixth in the Big 12) and has recorded 12 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 14 of its 19 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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