Aloha! VB Headed to Sweet 16

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. The 13th-seeded Oklahoma volleyball team is headed to the Sweet 16 in Honolulu, Hawaii after sweeping Missouri State (30-19, 30-22, 30-19) Saturday night in the Fayetteville bracket. The Sooners are making only their second trip to the Sweet 16 in school history with its last coming in 1988.

Oklahoma will play UCLA, the No. 4 overall seed in the tournament, this Friday. The Bruins swept Utah tonight to advance to the Sweet 16. The Sooners and Bruins match time is yet to be determined.

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“This is an incredible accomplishment for our program,” head coach Santiago Restrepo said. “We played some great teams this weekend and we were able to have everything clicking on all cylinders. The best thing I saw out there this weekend was that we were having fun and that is what it is all about. I'm so proud of our girls and we look forward to the challenges awaiting us in Hawaii.”

The Sooners, the top seed in the bracket, came out with huge momentum against the Bears, the third seed in the bracket. The Oklahoma defense was stellar as it held Missouri State to a .058 hitting percentage as the Sooners produced 12 blocks behind the play Eliane Santos.

Santos, the Big 12 Co-Defensive Player of the Year, was huge for the Sooners in the first and second rounds of the tournament as she averaged 4.67 kills per game on an impressive .610 hitting percentage while also adding 2.83 blocks per game in the two matches this weekend.

Against the Bears, Santos led the offensive attack with 16 kills on a .750 hitting percentage while also guiding the defense with two solo blocks and five block assists.

Also adding offensive presence was Joanna Schmitt who pounded 11 kills while also collecting eight digs for the Sooners.

The defense was a total team effort as Anna Monsen, the Big 12 Co-Libero of the Year, recorded a match-high 12 digs while setter Rachel Jackson and Laura Tomes added four blocks each.

Oklahoma came out firing in the first game as it opened the match with a 6-1 advantage in game one before Missouri State was forced to call a time out. The Sooners didn't let that stop them as they put together another 6-3 run before Missouri State called another time out and OU held the 12-4 advantage. OU never let go of the momentum and took game one, 30-19. Santos picked up where she left off yesterday as she led the Sooners in frame one with five kills and four blocks, two assisted and two solo, as the OU offense compiled a .393 hitting percentage in the first frame.

The second game started differently than the first as each team traded points until it was 7-7 but Oklahoma used a huge 8-0 rally to run away with it. After falling behind 15-7, MSU called a timeout but wouldn't get any closer than seven points the rest of the way. Tomes and Schmitt were huge for the Sooners in game two as each added four kills while Santos continued her stellar performance with five kills and two block assists.

The Sooners wouldn't be denied in the third game as they kept it close until Oklahoma went on another big 9-0 run to close out the final game and win 30-19.

Oklahoma enters the Sweet 16 with a 28-5 record, the most wins of any Sooner squad since 1980.

Further information on OU's advancement to the Sweet 16 and future opponent will be available at www.SoonerSports.com.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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