No. 15 OU Ties Its Best Big 12 Mark

NORMAN, Okla. With a sweep of Kansas State Saturday afternoon, the No. 15 Oklahoma volleyball team tied the 1997 team for the most Big 12 wins in the history of the program. The Sooners pushed their conference mark to 13-3 with a 3-0 (30-24, 30-24, 30-17) win over the Wildcats inside the Field House. The 1997 squad finished the conference season with a 13-7 mark while the 2006 Sooners still have four matches remaining in the league schedule.

Additionally, OU has already won 11 more Big 12 matches than last season and has recorded the best one-year turnaround than any team in Big 12 history.

“I'm very proud of this squad and what they have done this year in terms of elevating our program,” head coach Santiago Restrepo said. “We were very strong defensively tonight and I think that was the difference in the match.”

Box Score | Cumulative Stats | 2006 Schedule

Senior outside hitter Joanna Schmitt recorded her 15th double-double of the season with a match-high 15 kills and 12 digs. Adding offensive presence were Laura Tomes and Eliane Santos who added 10 kills each. Additionally, Tomes led all players with her impressive .667 hitting percentage and no attack errors while Santos was also consistent with her .400 hitting percentage.

Setter Rachel Jackson, the team's ace leader, led the Sooners offense to a .307 hitting percentage with her 42 assists while also adding another ace.

Different from the earlier match against the KSU this season, Oklahoma's defense dominated the Wildcats, holding KSU to a .116 hitting percentage. Libero Anna Monsen and Santos led the way for the defense as Oklahoma oublocked KSU, 15-6 and collected 57 digs to KSU's 42.

Santos pounded a career-high five solo blocks while also adding four block assists while Monsen collected a match-high 19 digs. Also adding defensive help at the net were Jackson and Tomes, who recorded four block assists each.

In game one, Kansas State jumped out to with the 7-4 lead, but Oklahoma took the lead after a Bridget Laplante kill gave OU the 13-12 lead. OU's 6-1 run, highlighted by a Jackson ace and Tomes kill, gave OU the 27-19 advantage and Santos closed out the game with two straight kills as OU won 30-24 in frame one.

In game two, Oklahoma jumped out to the 7-3 lead, but K-State hung tight closing the gap at 23-21. However, the Sooners weren't rattled as they followed with three straight points and won 30-24 after Laplante's kill ended game two.

Oklahoma made sure the match would only go three games as the Sooners went on an 8-0 run to take the 8-1 lead in game three and ran away with the third and final game, winning 30-17. Santos was on fire at the net as she recorded four solo blocks and two block assists in the third frame as the Sooners held KSU to a -.026 hitting percentage.

OU's win marked the first sweep over Kansas State since Oct. 28, 1995 when Oklahoma swept the Wildcats in Manhattan.

Next, Oklahoma will head to Columbia, Mo., for a top-25 showdown against No. 25 Missouri on Wednesday night. First serve between the Tigers and Sooners is set for 6:30 p.m.

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