Volleyball Hits Norman this Weekend

NORMAN, Okla. - For the first time in 12 years, the Oklahoma volleyball squad will open its season at home. The 2006 OU squad will host the Sooner Legends Nike Invitational this Friday and Saturday (Aug. 25-26) inside the Howard McCasland Field House.

The four-team tournament will be a tough opening test for the Sooners as the field includes NCAA qualifiers Arkansas and North Carolina, as well as Idaho. With three matches scheduled each day, Oklahoma will open the season with a 7 p.m. match Friday against Arkansas and will resume tournament play on Saturday against Idaho (noon) and North Carolina (7 p.m.).

Live stats of every match in the tournament will be available via SoonerSports.com while the OU matches will also be broadcast on the O-Zone.

Below is a complete schedule for the weekend:

Friday, Aug. 25
12 p.m. Arkansas vs. Idaho
5 p.m. North Carolina vs. Idaho
7 p.m. OU vs. Arkansas

Saturday, Aug. 26
12 p.m. OU vs. Idaho
2 p.m. Arkansas vs. UNC
7 p.m. OU vs. North Carolina

Live Stats | Live O-Zone

PROMOTIONS/TICKETS
Promotional items will be available for Sooner fans for all three OU matches.

In OU's opening match against Arkansas the first 250 fans will receive free OU pom-poms.

During Saturday's action, 250 OU foam fingers will be passed out during the OU/Idaho match and 250 OU foam noodles will be provided for the tournament finale, the OU vs. North Carolina match at 7 p.m. Saturday night.

Admission will be a day pass that is $7 for adults and $5 for children. The pass will allow access to every match that day. All OU students are admitted free with an OU ID.

SCOUTING ARKANSAS
The LadyBacks open the season with four returning starters from a 2005 squad that produced a 21-12 overall mark and finished first in the SEC West division. Ironically, it is an Oklahoma native that is headlining the list of returnees for Arkansas. Amy Allison, a 6-2 middle blocker from Jenks HS, earned all-conference honors in 2005 after finishing second in the country with a 1.83 block per game average. Through Allison's efforts, the Backs were a force at the net as they topped the SEC in blocks per game and finished 12th in the country with a 3.28 per game average. Arkansas finished its season in the first round of the NCAA Tournament after losing to Missouri, 3-0.

SCOUTING IDAHO
Idaho went 16-14 in 2005 while finishing fifth in the WAC. The Vandals return five starters in 2006, including all-conference outside hitter Haley Larsen. As a freshman last season, Larsen led the squad with 3.77 kills per game and has been selected to the preseason All-WAC squad. The Vandals, who averaged 14.7 kills per game and 15.96 digs per game in 2005, have been picked to finish fourth in the WAC preseason poll.

SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA
Ready to defend their ACC title from 2005, the Tar Heels return three starters from last year's squad, including preseason All-ACC pick Amy Beaver. The 6-1 senior is the squad's leading returner in the middle as she led UNC in block assists (122) and total blocks last season (143) while averaging 1.11 blocks per game. The Tar Heels ended their season on a sour note in 2005 after losing to College of Charleston on their home floor in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. UNC was picked to finish fourth in the ACC in 2006 after the graduation of AVCA honorable mention All-American Dani Nyenhuis, an outside hitter who led the squad in kills (3.69/game) and averaged 3.36 digs per game.

SOONER PREVIEW
Entering his third season at the helm of the OU volleyball program with a fully implemented system in place, head coach Santiago Restrepo is excited about the OU squad as it enters the 2006 season.

It is easy to understand why the excitement of the upcoming season is at an all-time high as Restrepo will enter the year with a five-member senior class, his largest to date, and six retuning starters.

Seniors Joanna Schmitt and Elaine Santos will likely highlight the returnees as Santos, a middle blocker, returns for her senior season after leading all Big 12 newcomers in blocks in 2005 and being selected as one of Collegiate Volleyball Update's top five blockers in the country.

Schmitt, a two-year captain for the Sooners at outside hitter, is the all-time rally-scoring career leader in kills and digs at OU and is looking forward to a healthy 2006 after a severe ankle injury suffered during the non-conference slate slowed her during the 2005 season.

Additionally, Restrepo continues to add international flavor to the Sooner roster as his recruiting success brought in Brazilian middle blocker Mariana Blum, the second two-time juco All-American he has lured to Soonerland. Complementing Blum in the newcomer class will be incoming freshman Francie Ekwerekwu (middle blocker) and Bridget Laplante (outside hitter). The following is a position by position preview for the 2006 Sooners.

MIDDLE BLOCKERS
Returning Players: Eliane Santos, Anna Stadel, Laura Tomes
Newcomers: Francie Ekwerekwu

With three starters returning, the middle blocker and right side look to be one of OU's biggest strengths in 2006. A variety of possibilities could be seen in the lineup as Francie Ekwerekwu and Laura Tomes could both see time at middle blocker and right side.

Headlining the middle blockers is Preseason All-Big 12 performer Eliane Santos. The former two-time juco All-American out of the College of Southern Idaho led the Sooners in kills (3.86 per game) and blocks (1.57 per game) in 2005 while also ranking in the top five in the conference in both categories.

Anna Stadel, a 6-1 junior, brings a wealth of experience to the middle as the two-year starter was second on the squad in blocks (1.16 per game), including a team-best 19 solo blocks.

Last season, Tomes made the switch from middle blocker to right side, but could see a switch back over to the middle this season. In her right side role in 2005, Tomes owned one of the best hitting percentages (.248) on the squad and averaged 0.84 blocks per game.

Ekwerekwu, the shortest of the middle blockers and right sides at 5-11, is the lone newcomer to the position. A standout athlete at Arlington High School, she led her squad with 0.90 blocks per game.

OUTSIDE HITTERS
Returning Players: Joanna Schmitt, Sarah Weiland
Newcomers: Mariana Blum, Bridget Laplante

With returning veterans Joanna Schmitt and Sarah Weiland in the lineup, the outsides should be another key strength for the Sooners in 2006.

Additionally, key newcomers Mariana Blum and Bridget Laplante arrive as highly touted hitters, but have much to prove at the college level and must replace former Sooner Gabriela Tonon, one of two players who graduated in 2005.

Weiland thrived in her first year with the Sooner program where she was a huge threat behind the line as well as at the net. Last season, Weiland led the conference in aces and set a Big 12 record for the most aces in a match. In addition to being the single season leader in aces at OU, she also averaged 2.51 kills per game for the Sooners.

The highly touted Blum will be vying for a starting role on the outside while Laplante will be a viable candidate for Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. The freshman averaged 5.7 kills per game during her senior campaign in high school.

SETTERS
Returning Players: Julie Chester, Rachel Jackson

The captain of the court, otherwise known as the setter, will continue to feature a battle for the starting nod. In what has become a regular occurrence since both arrived on campus, setters Rachel Jackson, a senior, and junior Julie Chester will continue to compete for the starting setter role on the squad.

Last season, the Sooners ran a two-setter offense where Chester averaged 7.45 assists per game, but played 15 games less than Jackson, who averaged 6.95 assists per game.

However, Restrepo has made it clear that the Sooners will run a 5-1 offensive set this season so there will be only one starting setter. The starting nod will be given to the player who shows the best consistency and leadership on the court.

LIBERO/DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST
Returning Players: Lacy Barnes, Anna Monsen, Hannah Sharp

Similar to all other positions this season, the Sooners will not be lacking in experience as sophomore Lacy Barnes, senior Anna Monsen and junior Hannah Sharp will all be competing for starting time.

Monsen finished the latter half of the season on a terror, averaging 4.09 digs per game in the final 10 matches of the season.

Sharp opened 2005 as the squad's starting libero and finished the season sharing the team-best digs per game mark (2.31) with Monsen.

Barnes saw limited time as a freshman in 2005, but made the most of her court appearances.

OU'S ELIANE SANTOS EARNS PRESEASON ALL-BIG 12 HONORS
Oklahoma volleyball senior Eliane Santos was one of 13 players selected to the preseason All-Big 12 team, which is voted on by the league's head coaches.

The 6-5 middle blocker had a break-out season in her first year with the Sooners. The junior transfer led the squad in kills (3.86 per game) and blocks (1.57 per game), both of which ranked fifth among all Big 12 players. She was also selected by Collegiate Volleyball Update as one of the top five blockers in the country.

WHAT RETURNS?
The Sooners will not be lacking playing experience as they enter the 2006 season. With six starters returning, Oklahoma's chemistry looks to be one of its biggest strengths. Below is a look at the 2005 statistical totals of the returnees and what percentage of the team totals they accounted for:

Returnees Total Percent

Kills	1,259	84
Aces	137	91
Digs	1,220	94
Blocks	217.5	72

YEAR-TO-YEAR COMPARISON
For the last two years, the Oklahoma volleyball program continues to improve in statistical categories. In 2004, OU improved in every major statistical category. The same can be said for 2005. Oklahoma improved in kills per game, assists per game, aces per game and blocks per game compared to the 2004 stats. Below is a breakdown:

Comparison 2004 2005

Kills per game	13.96	14.25
Assists per game	12.73	13.12
Aces per game	1.01	1.44
Blocks per game	2.61	2.88

SANTOS HONORED NATIONALLY
Junior middle blocker Eliane Santos was recognized by Collegiate Volleyball Update as one of the top five blockers in the country last season.

Collegiate Volleyball Update selected Nebraska's Melissa Elmer as its 2005 Blocker of the Year and chose four other student-athletes in the honorable mention category. Joining Santos on the honorable mention list were Arkansas's Amy Allison, UCLA's Nana Meriwether and Ivana Kuzmic of LSU.

Santos, a transfer from College of Southern Idaho, finished the season with a team-leading 1.57 blocks per game and also led the Sooners in kills per game (3.86).

It marked the first time any Sooner has received recognition from Collegiate Volleyball Update.

SCHMITT TOPS CAREER CHARTS IN KILLS AND DIGS
In her first match back from injury in the 2005 season, junior Joanna Schmitt became a member of the 1,000 kills club. Schmitt is the only Sooner to accomplish this feat in the rally-scoring era. The junior has pounded 1,218 kills during her three-year career at OU.

ANOTHER TOUGH SCHEDULE
A constant year in and year out in Big 12 play, the Oklahoma volleyball squad has put together another tough schedule for the 2006 season. The slate includes 10 teams that advanced to the 2005 NCAA Tournament and five teams in the current CSTV/AVCA Coaches Preseason Poll, including three in the top 10.

Over the course of the season, the Sooners will face currently ranked No. 1 Nebraska (twice), No. 8 Texas (twice) and No. 9 Wisconsin. Additionally, the Sooners will be pitted against No. 13 Missouri (twice) and No. 25 Kansas State (twice).

The Sooners will also face Colorado and Texas A&M twice as both of them are receiving votes in the current preseason top-25 poll.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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