VB Racks Up All-Region Honors

HONOLULU - As the No. 12 Oklahoma volleyball team prepares for its Sweet 16 match up against No. 4 UCLA, it received more recognition this week as the All-Central Region team was announced by the American Volleyball Coaches' Association this Wednesday.

Head coach Santiago Restrepo was named the Central Region Coach of the Year while seniors Joanna Schmitt and Eliane Santos received first team recognition and senior setter Rachel Jackson earned honorable mention honors.

It marks the first time in Oklahoma history that a Sooner coach has received All-Region honors and also the first time in school history that Oklahoma has placed three on the All-Region squad, including two first team selections. The Sooners have not had an All-Region selection since 1997.

Restrepo will represent the Central Region at the 2006 Tachikara/AVCA National Coach of the Year ballot. The awards will be officially presented at the 2006 Tachikara/AVCA Coach of the Year and Victory Club Awards banquet in Omaha, Neb., on Thursday, Dec. 14, at the 2006 American Volleyball Coaches Association Annual Convention.

Restrepo has led the Sooners to the regional semifinals of the NCAA Division I Tournament in what has been a record-breaking season for the OU program. Oklahoma achieved its best Big 12 mark in school history (17-3) for a second-place finish, while recording the best one-year turnaround in Big 12 history with 15 more conference victories than last season.

The Sooners also posted their highest regular season winning percentage (.839), after compiling a 26-5 regular season record. After earning a national ranking for the first time in 18 years, the Sooners are currently ranked No. 12 in the CSTV/AVCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll, the highest ranking in school history. They are playing in only their fourth NCAA Tournament, and are making only their second trip to the round of sixteen. This is the first time Restrepo has won the Tachikara/AVCA Division I Central Region Coach of the Year honor.

It marks the second-straight honor this week for Santos, who was also named the CVU.com National Player of the Week for her efforts in the First and Second Rounds of the NCAA Regional. The first team All-Big 12 selection leads all Big 12 players this season with 1.61 blocks per game and owns OU records for career solo blocks.

Schmitt, also a first team all-conference selection, was one of four outside hitters selected to the Central Region first team. The senior captain has been OU's kill leader all year (4.32 KPG) and is the first Sooner in rally-scoring history to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in her career.

Jackson rounded out the Central Region honors as she was one of six players selected to the honorable mention squad. The All-Big 12 honorable mention setter has been the key to OU's offense this year as she has guided the Sooners to a .265 hitting percentage while finishing second in the conference with 13.62 assists per game.

The Central Region is one of eight regions in the AVCA. All of the first-team selections from each region will now be up for All-American honors.

The Sooners open Sweet 16 play this Friday against fourth-seeded UCLA in Honolulu, Hawaii at 8:30 p.m. (CST).