VB Rolls and Advances with ORU Win

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. The 13th-seeded Oklahoma volleyball team had its offense and defense clicking on all cylinders as it recorded its second sweep of the season over Oral Roberts (30-19, 30-17, 30-19) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Fayetteville, Ark.

The Sooners, making their first NCAA appearance since 1997, will face Missouri State for a bid to the Sweet Sixteen in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Bears, the third seed in the Fayetteville bracket, upset host school Arkansas for their first-ever win in the NCAA Tournament.

“It was just a great team effort tonight,” head coach Santiago Restrepo said, who won his first NCAA match as a head coach. “It all comes down to coming out and playing the game and that's what we did tonight. Our girls did a great job of staying focused and they have a big challenge ahead of them tomorrow night. It's a great win for our program.”

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Oklahoma registered 17.5 blocks to ORU's six behind Eliane Santos' impressive defensive play. The Big 12 Co-Defensive Player of the Year recorded nine block assists and one solo block to headline the defense while senior Laura Tomes registered five block assists and two solos.

It was a collective team effort defensively as Sarah Weiland also added five block assists and Bridget Laplante and Rachel Jackson also recorded four block assists each. In the back row, libero Anna Monsen collected 10 digs while Joanna Schmitt recorded her 20th double-double of the season with a match-high 12 digs.

Offensively, Jackson guided the offense to one of its best hitting percentages of the season, a .374 hitting percentage, while recording 45 assists.

Leading the team offensively was Santos who pounded 12 kills on a .476 hitting percentage while three other Sooners registered double-digit kills. Weiland led the team in hitting percentage with a .667 clip and 11 kills while Schmitt and Laplante also added 11 kills each.

Game one started out with each team trading points back and forth until Oklahoma went on a 4-0 run to take the 13-9 advantage. The Sooners held the steady lead including a huge 7-0 run to take a dominating 24-15 lead that it wouldn't lose and ended the first frame off a Jackson kill, winning 30-19. Weiland led the Sooners to a .308 hitting percentage in the frame as she pounded five kills and no errors on a .833 clip while Santos and Tomes added three blocks each on the defensive end.

The Sooners didn't make it close in game two as they had huge momentum and never lost the lead the entire frame. The Sooners put on a blocking show as they recorded eight blocks to ORU's one. Santos could not be stopped as she pounded five block assists and one block solo while also pounding six kills on a .750 hitting percentage. Oklahoma finished the game on two straight Santos kills to win 30-17.

The same case followed in game three as Oklahoma didn't make it close, taking the first lead of the game and never looking back. The Sooners advanced to the second round with a 30-17 victory in the third frame.

Oklahoma and Missouri State will square off at 7 p.m. Saturday night.

“Missouri State is a great team,” Restrepo said. “We must bring our A-game if we want to advance.”