OU Knocks Off No. 14 Kansas State

Oct. 19, 2007

NORMAN, Okla. - The No. 23 Oklahoma volleyball team knocked off No. 14 Kansas State, 3-1 (30-27, 30-25, 26-30, 30-28), Friday night at the McCasland House.

The Sooners improved to 16-5 and 8-3 in the Big 12 after playing their third straight top-15 team in less than a week. Oklahoma now sits alone at third in the Big 12 standings after beating Kansas State twice this season. The Wildcats fell to 15-6 and 7-4 in conference action.

"Tonight was a total team effort," head coach Santiago Restrepo said. "Kansas State is a very good squad and we needed everybody to step up. Our goal was to come out with intensity and fire for the match and I think that was key, along with our strong defense."

The Sooner defense had its best outing of the season as it collected a season-high 90 digs in the four-game match. Mariana Blum and Bridget Laplante led the defensive effort as each recorded a career high in digs. Blum collected 29 digs while Laplante tallied 26 digs. In addition, Hannah Sharp and Julie Chester collected 12 digs each.

Oklahoma was also impressive at the net as it recorded 12 team blocks with four different Sooners guiding the way. Francie Ekwerekwu led the team with five block assists and a solo block while Anna Stadel also tallied four block assists and two block assists. Sarah Weiland added five block assists while Laplante added three block assists.

Kansas State edged Oklahoma in the offensive battle. Oklahoma recorded a .151 hitting percentage to KSU's .166 clip. However, Oklahoma had five different players tally double-digit kills. Laplante and Stadel led the way with 13 kills each while Ekwerekwu added 12, Weiland followed with 11 and Blum pounded 10.

Blum recorded her 12th double-double of the season while Laplante tallied her 11th double-double of the year. Chester guided the offense with 55 assists.

Oklahoma battled back from a 20-17 deficit in game one. The Sooners tied it up at 23-23 on a Blum kill, but trailed again at 26-25. However, OU went on a 4-1 run to close out the match and take the early lead. The Sooners recorded a .231 hitting percentage behind Laplante's six kills.

The Sooners carried their momentum into frame two as they jumped out to the 9-8 lead and never trailed again. KSU cut the deficit at 24-21, but the Sooners rallied and won the second frame, 30-25. Both teams struggled offensively in the second frame, but Ekwerekwu and Stadel's three kills each powered the Sooners while Blum's seven digs in the second frame led the defense.

Both offenses were strong in the third frame, but OU couldn't overcome KSU's .295 hitting percentage and KSU's Natalya Korobkova's eight kills. Oklahoma jumped out to the early 6-2 lead, but KSU rallied back to take the lead at 9-8 and never trailed again. The Sooners tied it up at 26-26, but a 4-0 run for the Wildcats sealed the game as OU led 2-1.

Game four saw 12 different ties with each team battling back and forth. Both squads were tied at 27-27. An attack error by KSU gave the lead to OU, but a Sooner attack error tied the game up again. However, KSU's JuliAnne Chisholm recorded two straight attack errors to end the game and give the match to the Sooners.

After enjoying a three-game home stand, Oklahoma will hit the road next Wednesday as it takes on the Colorado Buffaloes at 7:30 p.m. (CST) in Boulder. Oklahoma battled back from a 2-0 deficit against Colorado earlier this season to beat the Buffs in Norman.

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