Volleyball Adds JUCO All-American to 2006 Class

NORMAN, Okla. Oklahoma volleyball coach Santiago Restrepo announced the signing of two-time JUCO All-American Mariana Blum to an NCAA National Letter of Intent Wednesday. The 5-10 outside hitter joins outside hitter Bridget Laplante and middle blocker Franci Ekwerekwu to complete the 2006 class.

“Mariana is an exciting addition to our program,” Restrepo said. “She had tremendous success on the junior college level and we are looking forward to what she can add to our program as well.”

A native of Sao Bernardo, Brazil, Blum rewrote the record books at Hutchinson Community College where she owns 25 school records, including nine career marks, and led the Lady Dragons to an eighth place finish at the 2005 NJCAA Division I National Tournament this past year.

Blum Bio | 2005 Season Stats

The two-time all-conference selection is the only Lady Dragon to ever record 1,000 kills (1,225) and 1,000 digs (1,242) in her career. Additionally, she is impressive behind the line where she has tallied 317 career service aces with her potent, powerful jump serve. Blum set a single-match record with 14 aces, including one run of 10 straight aces in a national tournament match against Blinn College.

Blum finished her sophomore campaign with a team-best 584 kills and set a single-season record with 731 digs in 150 games played.

“In addition to her powerful arm, she will also add depth to our lineup and complement our current players,” Restrepo added. “Mariana also brings a strong defensive aspect of the game along with a powerful serve that had great success at the junior college level.”

The two-time all-region selection was equally impressive in her rookie season at Hutchinson Community College where she claimed Jayhawk West Freshman of the Year honors while leading her team in eight different statistical categories. As a freshman, Blum was named the Most Valuable Player of four different tournaments.

The Oklahoma volleyball squad only lost two seniors this season in middle blocker Jennifer Adams and outside hitter Gabriela Tonon. The Sooners will return five starters and a libero in 2006.

The Sooners are currently in the middle of their spring exhibition season. In its first tournament, Oklahoma swept the field (Baylor, TCU, North Texas, Texas State) last Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas. OU will continue exhibition play as it heads to Houston this weekend to compete in the Texas Tornadoes Volleyball Club Tournament.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Volleyball Adds JUCO All-American to 2006 Class

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