Record VB Season Ends In Hawaii

HONOLULU - The record-breaking season for the No. 12 Oklahoma volleyball team came to an end Friday night as it was swept by No. 4 UCLA in the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins handed the Sooners a 30-22, 30-16, 30-26 loss and ended Oklahoma's eight match win streak.

Senior Laura Tomes led the Sooners in Friday night's action with 11 kills on a .375 hitting percentage while Sarah Weiland and Bridget Laplante added 10 kills each to an offense that only hit at a .179 clip while the fourth-seeded Bruins pounded a .378 hitting percentage.

Defensively, UCLA was strong at the net as they pounded 13 blocks to Oklahoma's one. The national leader in blocks per game, UCLA's Nana Meriwether, recorded eight blocks and pounded 17 kills on a .708 hitting percentage.

Box Score | Cumm. Stats | NCAA Scores

“Our defense was not as strong as it has been all seaon,” head coach Santiago Restrepo said. “I give credit to UCLA for their play tonight, but I'm really proud of this entire team and how the whole group contributed every match. This senior class has been sensational and has left a mark on this program. Now, it's time for the younger girls to step up and get ready for next year.”

On the Sooner defensive end, Laplante notched a double-double with her 11 digs and Anna Monsen collected a team-high 12 digs. Oklahoma, the top blocking team in the Big 12, only had one block after Tomes and setter Rachel Jackson combined for a block assist.

UCLA jumped out to the 4-0 lead before Oklahoma scored its first point of the match after an UCLA service error made it 4-1. The Sooners trailed until using a 4-0 run highlighted by a Weiland kill and ace to tie it up at 12-12. UCLA matched OU's momentum and scored the next three straight points, including two aces, to take the lead and went on a roll after that as it jumped out to its largest lead of the game, 25-18, before OU was forced to call a time out. The Sooners cut it to within six but the Bruins closed out the game on a 4-2 run and won, 30-22. The Bruins used six aces and a .359 hitting percentage to take the 1-0 lead in the match.

Game two started similar to the first as the Bruins jumped out to the early lead and Oklahoma kept it close until went on a 4-0 run to take the 16-10 lead. The Bruins had the momentum following that run as they followed that with a 10-4 run to take its largest lead of the match before the Sooners called a time out. UCLA didn't let up as it scored four of the next six points to take the second game, 30-16. The Bruins continued their strong offensive play in the second frame as they hit .500 while holding the Sooners to a .089 hitting percentage.

Oklahoma battled in game three as the two squads went point for point. The Sooners took their first lead of the entire match at 5-4 after a UCLA lift violation and continued to fight as there were 11 ties before UCLA took only its second lead of the game at 15-14. The Sooners closed it to within one on five different occasions after that but couldn't ever get over the hump to take back the lead as UCLA took the game and the match with a 30-26 win in the third frame.

Despite the loss, the Sooners made history with their season as they finish with the highest winning percentage of any OU team in history with a 28-6 record advanced to the NCAA Tournament for only the fourth time in school history and the Sweet 16 only the second time in school history. Additionally, Oklahoma earned its highest ranking in NCAA history (No. 12) and best finish in Big 12 play (second) with a 17-3 conference record.

Individually, the five-member senior class will go down as one of the best in history. Senior Eliane Santos earned Big 12 Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors while fellow senior Anna Monsen collected Big 12 Co-Libero of the Year honors. Joining Santos on the conference first team was senior Joanna Schmitt while Rachel Jackson and Laura Tomes rounded out the senior class on the All-Big 12 honorable mention team. Additionally, Santos and Schmitt were named to the Central Region first team while Jackson was named to the All-Region honorable mention squad.

Also, Schmitt closes out her career as the lone rally-scoring leader in school history to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in her career. Santos finishes her short two-year career at Oklahoma as the career leader in solo blocks and blocks per game.

In his third year at the helm of the Sooner program, Restrepo earned Big 12 and Central Region Coach of the Year after recording the best one-year turnaround in Big 12 history. Oklahoma had one of the greatest turnarounds in the country after finishing 7-22 overall and 2-18 in the Big 12 last season. The Sooner head coach is one of eight finalists up for National Coach of the Year.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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