Volleyball Celebrates Record Season

NORMAN, Okla. - The Oklahoma volleyball team celebrated its record-breaking season Sunday night as it hosted its second annual banquet to honor the squad. Ace Club members, parents, supporting staff and fans celebrated with the team and coaches at the Kerr-McGee Courtside Club at Lloyd Noble.

The banquet included a highlight video that strung together all of Oklahoma's accomplishments while also recognizing each player and their individual accomplishments and accolades throughout the season. Head coach Santiago Restrepo, the Big 12 Coach of the Year, capped off the night as he presented individual team awards for the second straight year.

Additionally, the underclassmen honored the Seniors by writing a poem for the five-member senior class.

Senior Eliane Santos was named the Most Valuable Player of the team this season while fellow senior Laura Tomes earned the Most Improved award. The Sooner award, given to the player who best exemplifies leadership and work ethic, was shared by seniors Rachel Jackson and Anna Monsen.

Below is a year-in-review of the Oklahoma volleyball team and its best season in school history.

RECORD-BREAKING SEASON
Prior to the 2006 season, nobody thought twice about the Oklahoma volleyball team on its schedule, but by the end of the season Oklahoma found itself sitting at No. 12 in the final poll and a 28-6 overall record after finishing second in the Big 12 Conference behind the National Champion Nebraska Cornhuskers. The Sooners were now a well-known name in the volleyball world.

Year-In-Review (PDF) | 2006 Stats | 2006 Schedule

In his third year at the helm of the Sooner program, head coach Santiago Restrepo earned Big 12 and Central Region Coach of the Year after recording the best wining percentage in school history (.824) and leading Oklahoma to one of the greatest one-year turnarounds in the country and best in Big 12 history after finishing 7-22 overall and 2-18 in the Big 12 in 2005.

The Sooners slowly worked their way up the poll through season as they landed at No. 25 on Oct. 2 and continued to climb towards the top. Prior to 2006, Oklahoma had not been ranked since 1988. That year also marked the only other time in the 32-year history of the program that Oklahoma has been ranked in the top-25.

As Oklahoma notched each win, the Sooners continued to set records in their best season in school history. OU's record-breaking season started as the Sooners beat Texas A&M for the first time ever in College Station and ended a 27-year skid to the Aggies.

However, the win over Texas A&M would be only the beginning as two weeks later the Sooners upset then-No. 8 Texas, beating a ranked team for the first time since 1998 and earning their first-ever win over the Longhorns in series history.

Oklahoma went on to produce a 17-3 Big 12 record, dropping only two matches to Nebraska and one five-game match to Texas. The Sooners' Big 12 mark was their best ever as they also recorded a program-best finish (second) in the Big 12 Conference race.

Following Big 12 play, Oklahoma advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1997 and only the fourth time in the program's 32-year history and was slated as the 13th overall seed in the field of 64.

The Sooners played the First and Second Rounds in Fayetteville, Ark., and recorded two straight sweeps over Oral Roberts and Missouri State to advance to NCAA Regionals (Sweet 16) in Honolulu, Hawaii. It marked only the second time ever that Oklahoma advanced as far as the Sweet 16.

Oklahoma ran into a tough challenge in Honolulu as the Sooners faced fourth-ranked and Pac-10 powerhouse UCLA. The Bruins ended OU's record season as they swept the Sooners and eventually advanced to the Final Four.

Individually, two Sooners earned All-America honors for the first time since 1997 as senior Eliane Santos was named a third team All-American and Joanna Schmitt earned honorable mention honors. Oklahoma placed five on the All-Big 12 teams with Santos earning Co-Defensive Player of the Year while Anna Monsen was named the Co-Libero of the Year.

COACH OF THE YEAR ACCOLADES POUR IN
After guiding Oklahoma to the best one-year turnaround in Big 12 history and leading the Sooners to a No. 12 final ranking, the Coach of the Year honors poured in for Santiago Restrepo. After claiming Big 12 Coach of the Year, Restrepo went on to earn the Central Region Coach of the Year and was named National Coach of the Year by CVU.com.

AVCA ALL-AMERICANS
Senior Eliane Santos was named an AVCA third team selection and fellow senior Joanna Schmitt earned honorable mention honors as the duo are only the second and third Sooners in history to receive All-America honors. The lone Sooner prior to this year to earn All-America honors in the 32-year history of the program was Patrice Arrington, a 1997 honorable mention selection.

THREE SOONERS NAMED ALL-REGION
Oklahoma made history as three Sooners were named to the Central All-Region squad for the first time in the program's existence. Seniors Joanna Schmitt and Eliane Santos received first team recognition and senior setter Rachel Jackson earned honorable mention honors.

SOONERS HIGHLIGHT INDIVIDUAL HONORS
Oklahoma picked up three of the six individual postseason Big 12 awards as the conference coaches selected players from around the league for individual honors. Senior middle blocker Eliane Santos was named the league's Co-Defensive Player of the Year while fellow senior Anna Monsen was selected as the Co-Libero of the Year. Highlighting the Oklahoma selections was head coach Santiago Restrepo who was named Big 12 Coach of the Year.

RESTREPO WINS IN DEBUT
In his sixth year as a head coach at the Division I level and third with Oklahoma, Santiago Restrepo made his head coaching debut in the NCAA Tournament in the First Round and Second Round and earned straight two wins in his first-ever NCAA Championship.

HISTORY MADE WITH ALL-BIG 12 SELECTIONS
For the first time in school history, Oklahoma had four selections on the all-conference teams. In addition, the Sooners tied Nebraska for the most selections of any Big 12 team in 2006. Oklahoma had a member on the All-Big 12 first team for the first time since 1996 as seniors Joanna Schmitt and Eliane Santos claimed first team accolades. Rounding out the Sooner foursome were fellow seniors Rachel Jackson and Laura Tomes who earned honorable mention honors.

PROGRAM-BEST WINNING PERCENTAGE
Finishing the season with a 28-6 final record, the Oklahoma volleyball team recorded of the highest winning percentage in school history (824). The previous best was .765 as the 1987 squad finished with a 26-8 record under head coach Miles Pabst.

SOONERS EARN HIGHEST RANKING EVER
The Oklahoma volleyball squad recorded its highest final ranking ever in the program as the Sooners finished at No. 12 in the final CSTV/AVCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll, marking its highest ranking in program history. Oklahoma finished the 1988 season ranked No. 13, the only other season the program was ranked.

BEST ONE YEAR TURNAROUND
The Sooner volleyball program underwent a complete turnaround from the 2005 season. OU finished the 2005 season with a 7-22 overall mark and 2-18 record in Big 12 play. However, the Sooners did a complete reversal in 2006 and finished with a 28-6 overall record and 17-3 mark in Big 12 play. The Sooners own the best one-year turnaround in conference history. Below is a look at the best one-year improvements in the conference:

School Years Improvement

OKLAHOMA	2005-2006	2-18 to 17-3
Missouri	1999-2000	4-16 to 14-6
Iowa State	2004-2005	1-19 to 9-11
Baylor	1998-1999	7-13 to 12-8

2006 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The 2006 Sooners had a record-breaking season in head coach Santiago Restrepo's third year at the helm of the program. Below are key milestones the Sooners achieved in 2006.
* Ranked in top-25 for first time since 1988
* Best winning percentage in program history
* Best Big 12 record ever
* Most wins since 1980 (finished 36-23 that year)
* Best conference finish ever (second place)
* Highest top-25 ranking ever (No. 12)

SEEING DOUBLE
Outside hitter Joanna Schmitt was the Sooners' go-to-girl this season. It is no surprise that the senior captain led the team with a 4.27 kills per game average (third in the Big 12) and recorded 20 double-doubles this season.

MAKING HISTORY TIMELINE
The 2006 version of the Oklahoma volleyball squad was all about making history and defying the odds. Below is a timeline of the accomplishments the squad has achieved this season.

Sept. 13 - OU 3, Texas A&M 0
* OU snaps a 27-year losing streak to Texas A&M and earns its first-ever win in College Station in the Big 12 opener.

Sept. 27 - OU 3, #8 Texas 2
* Win over then-No. 8 Texas marks first-time ever OU has beaten Texas in volleyball and the first time since 1998 that OU beat a top-25 team.

Sept. 30 - OU 3, Colorado 2
* Oklahoma beats Colorado for the first time in Boulder since Oct. 13, 1988.

Oct. 2 - OU Ranked No. 25
* OU cracks the top-25 polls on Oct. 2 for the first time since 1988.

Oct. 11 - OU 3, Texas Tech 2
* With a come-from-behind 3-2 win, OU beat Texas Tech in Lubbock for the first time since Oct. 18, 1997.

Oct. 14 - OU 3, Kansas State 2
* OU snaps a 14-match losing streak to Kansas State with a 3-2 win over the Wildcats in Manhattan.

Oct. 18 - OU 3, #12 Missouri 0
* A 12-match losing streak to Missouri is snapped with an upset of the then-No. 12 Tigers.

Nov. 11 - OU 3, Kansas State 0
*With the sweep, OU completes best one-year turnaround in Big 12 history.

Nov. 15 - OU 3, Missouri 2
*Sooners record best Big 12 record in OU history.

Nov. 25 - OU 3, Baylor 1
*OU's victory gives OU a second-place finish in the Big 12 standings, its highest in history.

Nov. 26 - Sooners Selected as the 13th Overall Seed
*For the first time since 1997 and only fourth time in the history of the program, the 13th-seeded Oklahoma volleyball team is invited to the 64-team field NCAA Tournament.

Nov. 27 - Five Sooners Named All-Conference
*All five of OU's seniors are named to the Big 12 All-Conference teams.

Dec. 2 - OU 3, Missouri State 0
*The Sooners sweep Missouri State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament and advance to the Sweet 16 for only the second time in school history.

Dec. 6 - Three Sooners Collect All-Region Honors
*In addition to Restrepo being named Coach of the Year, Santos and Schmitt (first team) and Jackson (honorable mention) set school records as All-Region selections.

Dec. 13 - Santos and Schmitt Named All-Americans
*Eliane Santos (third team) and Joanna Schmitt (honorable mention) are only the second and third Sooners to collect All-America honors.

SCHMITT MAKES HISTORY
Senior Joanna Schmitt has accomplished a feat that few Sooners in history have done. The Wisconsin native became the first Sooner in OU rally-scoring history to reach 1,000 digs and 1,000 kills and only the fourth in the 32-year history of the program.

ACADEMIC HONORS
Rachel Jackson and Hannah Sharp were both named to the Academic All-District second and third teams, respectively. Additionally, Jackson, Sharp as well as Anna Monsen and Joanna Schmitt were named to the Academic All-Big 12 first team. Eliane Santos rounded out the crew with her second-team selection.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES
Oklahoma ended last season with a 7-22 overall mark and a 2-18 record in Big 12 play. In 2006, the Sooners far surpassed last year's win total in conference and overall. A comparison of the stats below shows what a difference a year makes.

Regular Season 2005 2006

Kills per game	14.25	16.28
Assists per game	13.12	15.02
Digs per game	12.33	15.33
Blocks per game	2.88	3.13

MONSEN DIGS 1,000
Anna Monsen became only the second player in rally-scoring history to record 1,000 digs in her career. The libero finished out her four-year career with 1,092 digs.

SOLO LEADER
Middle blocker Eliane Santos was a force at the net in her two-year career with the Sooners. Santos led all Big 12 players in the regular season with 40 solo blocks and finished second in the conference in Big 12 play with 1.61 blocks per game. The senior is also the OU rally-scoring record holder with 62 career solo blocks in her two-year stint with the Sooners.

SOONERS COLLECT 20-WIN SEASON
Oklahoma collected its 20th win of the season against TCU on Oct. 31. It marked the first 20-win season for OU since 1997 when the Sooners finished with a 20-13 overall record. In the 32-year history of the program the Sooners have had 12 20-win seasons.

BLOCK PARTY
Traditionally when people think of the top blocking team in the Big 12, perennial powerhouse Nebraska comes to mind. However, Oklahoma took that over as it finished the Big 12 regular season as the top-blocking team in Big 12 matches with 3.23 per game.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors