Seniors Finish Home Season Tuesday

NORMAN, Okla. - Tying its highest ranking in program history this week, the No. 13 Oklahoma volleyball team will look to make it 10 straight home wins as it hosts its final home match of the season this Tuesday with a meeting against Iowa State at 7 p.m.

Tuesday night will also mark Senior Night for the five-member senior class that has led Oklahoma to its record-breaking season. A brief ceremony after the match will honor seniors Rachel Jackson, Anna Monsen, Eliane Santos, Joanna Schmitt and Laura Tomes as they play the final match of their career at the McCasland Field House.

Live Stats | Match Notes

PROMOTIONS
In honor of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, all fans are encouraged to bring canned goods to the match to donate to the OU food drive. Those who bring canned items will receive a complimentary gift.

TICKETS
Fans still have the opportunity to watch OU's record-breaking season as tickets remain for the final home match of the year. 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.

BIG 12 STANDINGS RACE
The final two matches of the regular season are crucial to Oklahoma's race in the Big 12 standings. The Sooners currently own a 15-3 conference mark with two matches remaining.

OU and Texas (16-3 Big 12) are currently tied for second in the Big 12 standings as each own only three losses. While the Sooners have two Big 12 contests remaining, the Longhorns have only one - a match against No. 1 Nebraska next Saturday in Lincoln.

However, the Sooners are assured of finishing no lower than third which would be their highest finish ever in the Big 12 Conference. The previous best was a fifth-place finish in 1997.

Big 12 Standings	Big 12 Record	Overall Record
Nebraska	17-1	25-1
Texas	16-3	21-5
OKLAHOMA	15-3	24-5
Iowa State	11-7	19-9
Colorado	11-7	15-10
Missouri	10-8	16-11
Baylor	6-12	18-13
Texas Tech	5-13	12-15
Texas A&M	4-15	11-16
Kansas	3-15	10-17
Kansas State	2-16	10-18

THE MATCH UP
Iowa State arrives to Tuesday's match on a roll as it has won seven of its last nine matches, with its only losses coming against top-10 teams Texas and Nebraska. Owning an 11-7 Big 12 mark, the Cyclones remain in a tie for fourth place in the Big 12 standings.

Oklahoma will be defending its nine-match winning streak on its home court while Iowa State hasn't lost a match on the road since a five-game loss to Texas Tech in Lubbock on Oct. 14.

SCOUTING IOWA STATE
Head coach Christy Johnson has turned the Iowa State program around similar to how OU head coach Santiago Restrepo has turned the Sooner team around this season. Johnson has led the Cyclones to their best record in 11 years in her second season with the program. The Cyclones, who are receiving votes in the top-25 poll this week, have strung together two long win streaks this season with six of their seven conference losses coming to top-25 teams.

Iowa State is one of the strongest teams in the conference, defensively. The Cyclones are second in the league with 3.26 blocks per game in Big 12 action and lead the conference in digs with 17.45 DPG in conference action. The strong defensive front is largely due to the efforts of middle blocker Erin Boeve who is 10th in the country with 1.64 blocks per game and is leading all Big 12 players in the category.

While the Cyclone defense is one of the toughest in the Big 12, holding all opponents to a .164 hitting percentage, the offense complements it well. Offensively, the team owns a .242 hitting percentage with senior outside hitter Katie Jessen leading the way with 3.90 KPG. Boeve is also a threat on the offensive end as she is putting away 3.22 KPG on a .309 hitting percentage. Setter Kaylee Manns is one of the top setters in the conference as she is averaging 13.18 assists per game while also collecting 3.37 digs per game for the defense.

SERIES RECORDS
OU leads the Cyclones in the all-time series, 37-20, but Iowa State has taken five of the last seven matches from Oklahoma since 2003. In matches held in Norman, OU owns the 17-7 advantage with its last win in Norman on Sept. 18, 2002.

LAST TIME THEY MET
Oklahoma swept Iowa State (30-21, 31-29, 32-30) in its third Big 12 match of the season in Ames, Iowa. The Sooner offense played well, tallying a .316 hitting percentage with four Sooners recording double-digit kills. Freshman Bridget Laplante paced the Sooners as she pounded 15 kills on a .343 hitting percentage. Defensively, Iowa State owned the advantage at the net with 10 blocks to OU's seven.

UP NEXT: REGULAR SEASON FINALE
The Sooners will conclude their regular season this Saturday as they head to Waco, Texas for their final Big 12 road match of the year against Baylor at 7 p.m. After Oklahoma finishes out the regular season on Saturday, it will find out its NCAA Tournament fate on Sunday, Nov. 26 when the 64-team field is announced. OU is aiming for its fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament in program history and its first since 1997.

COLORADO IN REVIEW
For the second time in a week, the Oklahoma volleyball team went five games to earn another victory. The Sooners came back from a 2-1 deficit to hand the Colorado Buffaloes a 3-2 loss (30-22, 29-31, 30-32, 30-24, 15-9) at the McCasland Field House. The Oklahoma defense stepped up as it recorded 19 blocks to CU's nine with Eliane Santos leading the way with 11 total blocks, including three solo blocks. Additionally, senior Anna Monsen led all players with 23 digs and notched the 1,000th dig of her career in the first game.

SOONERS TIE HIGHEST RANKING EVER
The Oklahoma volleyball squad continues to climb up the polls as it received a No. 13 ranking in the latest CSTV/AVCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll released Nov. 20, tying its highest ranking in program history. Oklahoma finished the 1988 season also ranked No. 13. 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.

2006 SENIOR NIGHT
The 2006 senior class is the largest senior class in head coach Santiago Restrepo's three-year tenure and the group has been instrumental in the turnaround season the Sooners are having this year. Below is a brief look at each senior and their accomplishments this season:

#2 Rachel Jackson
Ranked second in the Big 12 in assists per game ... Also ranks seventh in the conference in aces ... Has recorded two 77-assist matches.

#4 Laura Tomes
Ranks seventh in the Big 12 in hitting percentage ... Owns the OU career record in hitting percentage.

#8 Joanna Schmitt
The only player in rally-scoring history to record 1,000 digs and 1,000 kills ... Ranks seventh in the Big 12 in total points ... Ranks fifth in the league in kills per game.

#10 Anna Monsen
Only second player in OU rally-scoring history to reach the 1,000 dig mark ... Leads all players in the Big 12 with 5.03 digs per game in Big 12 action.

#12 Eliane Santos
The OU career leader in solo blocks ... Also leads the conference in solo blocks and blocks per game.

2006 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The 2006 Sooners have had a record-breaking season in head coach Santiago Restrepo's third year at the helm of the program. Below are key milestones the Sooners have achieved in 2006.

* Ranked in top-25 for first time since 1988
* Own the best Big 12 record (15-3) of any OU team in the history of the conference. The previous best was 13-7 by the 1997 squad.
* Best overall record (24-5) since the 1987 team that went 26-8.
* Guaranteed to have best finish in the conference ever (assured third place or better).

THIRD YEAR A CHARM
Head coach Santiago Restrepo knows how to turn around a program and his third year with a program has been deadly for opponents. In his third year at Southern Miss, Restrepo led the Golden Eagles to a program-best 27-6 record. He has done the same in his third year at Oklahoma. Below is look at his three years at each school.

Southern Miss Oklahoma

Year One	9-19	12-17
Year Two	16-15	7-22
Year Three	27-6	24-5 (currently)

MONSEN DIGS 1,000
In OU's previous match against Colorado, senior libero Anna Monsen became only the second player in OU rally-scoring history to reach 1,000 career digs. The senior follows Joanna Schmitt with 1,017 career digs.

SCHMITT MAKES HISTORY
Senior Joanna Schmitt has accomplished a feat that few Sooners in history have done. The Wisconsin native is the first Sooner in OU rally-scoring history to reach 1,000 digs and 1,000 kills and only the fourth in the 32-year history of the program.

SOLO LEADER
Middle blocker Eliane Santos has been a force at the net in her two-year career with the Sooners. Santos leads all Big 12 players with 28 solo blocks and leads the conference in Big 12 play with 1.61 blocks per game. The senior is also the OU rally-scoring record holder with 57 career solo blocks in her two-year stint with the Sooners.

ACADEMIC HONORS
Rachel Jackson and Hannah Sharp were both named to the Academic All-District second and third teams, respectively. Additionally, Jackson, Sharp as well as Anna Monsen and Joanna Schmitt were named to the Academic All-Big 12 first team. Eliane Santos rounded out the crew with her second-team selection.

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

Sept. 13 - OU 3, Texas A&M 0
* OU snaps a 27-year losing streak to Texas A&M and earns its first-ever win in College Station in the Big 12 opener.

Sept. 27 - OU 3, #8 Texas 2
* 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.

Sept. 30 - OU 3, Colorado 2
* Oklahoma beats Colorado for the first time in Boulder since Oct. 13, 1988.

Oct. 2 - OU Ranked No. 25
* OU cracks the top-25 polls on Oct. 2 for the first time since 1988.

Oct. 11 - OU 3, Texas Tech 2
* With a come-from-behind 3-2 win, OU beat Texas Tech in Lubbock for the first time since Oct. 18, 1997.

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

Oct. 18 - OU 3, #12 Missouri 0
* A 12-match losing streak to Missouri is snapped with an upset of the then-No. 12 Tigers.

Nov. 11 - OU 3, Kansas State 0
*With the sweep, OU completes best one-year turnaround in Big 12 history.

Nov. 15 - OU 3, Missouri 2
*Sooners record best Big 12 record in OU history.

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 4.30 kills per game average (third in the Big 12) and has recorded 17 double-doubles already this season.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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