No. 1 Nebraska Too Much for Sooners

NORMAN, Okla. - The Oklahoma volleyball team made it interesting for a crowd of 703 inside the Howard McCasland Field House, but in the end the No. 1 team in the country, Nebraska, was too much for the Sooners as NU swept (30-27, 30-18, 34-32) Oklahoma Saturday night. The loss ended the Sooners seven-match winning streak as OU fell to 9-3 on the season and 1-1 in the Big 12.

Oklahoma opened game one with the momentum as the Sooners led the entire match until Nebraska took the lead at 28-27 and used three straight points to take the first game, 30-28. It was all Nebraska in the second game as the undefeated squad dominated the entire frame, hitting .317 to OU's .118, and took the 2-0 lead heading into the break.

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In the third set Oklahoma opened the match with a 4-2 lead, but Nebraska responded and looked as if it was going to dominate game three after taking the 27-22 lead. However, OU rallied with a 5-1 run and only trailed, 28-27. OU tied it up four more times and the two squads were tied at 32-32, but a Nebraska kill and an OU attack error gave Nebraska the game and the match.

“I really liked the way we fought tonight against the nation's No. 1 team,” head coach Santiago Restrepo said. “We gave ourselves a chance to win and that's what you have to do against a team like this. We didn't play up to the potential we can play, but I also credit Nebraska for a great match.”

Offensively, senior outside hitter Joanna Schmitt highlighted the offense as with a team-high 17 kills while senior Laura Tomes recorded 10 kills on a .333 clip. Junior outside Sarah Weiland added seven kills to OU's total of 46.

The quarterback of the offense, setter Rachel Jackson, guided the offense with 38 assists while adding three kills and no errors for the offense. Jackson was also impressive on defense as she collected a team-high 12 digs against the Huskers.

On the defensive end, Oklahoma held one of the nation's top-hitting teams to a .264 hitting percentage while only allowing to players to notch double-digit kills, All-Americans Sarah Pavan (14) and Jordan Larson (17).

At the net, each squad tallied six blocks a piece as middle blocker Eliane Santos recorded four block assists and one block solo. Weiland and Jackson also teamed up for two block assists each.

Libero Anna Monsen added 11 digs on the back row for the Sooners.

Oklahoma will have a week off before playing Iowa State next Saturday, Sept. 23 at 6:30 p.m. in Ames, Iowa.