Volleyball Steps Out of Big 12 Play

Oct. 2, 2007

NORMAN, Okla. - The Oklahoma volleyball team will take a break from Big 12 play on Wednesday as the Sooners head to Fort Worth, Texas to face the TCU Horned Frogs at 7 p.m.

For the fourth straight year head coach Santiago Restrepo has lined up a non-conference opponent during OU's bye week in Big 12 play. Wednesday night's match will mark the fourth straight year that OU and TCU have played each other.

LIVE STATS
Live stats of Wednesday night's match will be available at SoonerSports.com.

THE MATCH UP
The Sooners and Horned Frogs are meeting for only the fourth time in the series history, but both teams are very familiar with each other as the previous three meetings have come in the last three years. Oklahoma owns a 7-2 record against non-conference opponents this season.

TCU will be OU's final non-conference opponent of the regular season. TCU owns a 10-0 record at home this season and is a perfect 8-0 in non-conference play. TCU had its five-match win streak snapped last week as it was swept by New Mexico State on Tuesday and lost another three-game match to New Mexico on Friday.

SCOUTING TCU
TCU owns a 15-4 overall record and has only played one similar opponent to Oklahoma. TCU handed Denver a 3-2 loss in Fort Worth while the Sooners swept Denver earlier in their opening match of the season.

TCU's Kourtney Edwards is the top offensive performer for the Horned Frogs as she is averaging 3.51 kills per game on a consistent .404 hitting percentage. In addition, Edwards is the top defender with 1.26 blocks per game on a TCU team that is averaging 2.42 blocks per team. Edwards recorded six kills and a block assist in the meeting against Oklahoma last season.

The TCU offense is hitting at a .265 hitting percentage and is averaging 15.47 KPG while the defense is holding its opponents to a .172 hitting percentage.

LAST TIME THEY MET
Oklahoma won last year's meeting in Norman as the Sooners swept the Horned Frogs (30-13, 30-20, 30-23). OU opened the season in Fort Worth in 2005 and came out on top, 3-1 (30-24, 23-30, 30-22, 30-19).

Last season, Oklahoma's offense took off in the match as the squad recorded a .440 hitting percentage.

Then-freshman Bridget Laplante led the way with 14 kill on a .444 hitting percentage while Sarah Weiland notched eight kills on a consistent .700 hitting percentage.

SERIES RECORDS
Oklahoma leads the short series record between the schools, 2-1. The series began in head coach Santiago Restrepo's first season and has been played every season since. TCU won the first meeting between the squads with a 3-1 victory in Norman while OU followed that with a 3-1 win in Fort Worth the next year and a sweep in Norman in 2006.

OU RALLY FALLS SHORT AGAINST TIGERS
Oklahoma played its fourth five-game match of the season on Saturday night but, for the first time this season, the Sooners rally fell short as they lost to Missouri, 3-2 (31-29, 30-18, 33-35, 24-30, 15-13). The loss ended OU's five-match win streak in the Big 12 and ended the Sooners' perfect 5-0 mark to start league play. Mariana Blum led the offense with 25 kills on a .305 hitting percentage while Bridget Laplante followed with her ninth double-double of the year.

BEST BIG 12 START EVER
Despite OU's loss to Missouri, the Sooners' 5-0 start to Big 12 play was the best beginning to Big 12 play ever for the Oklahoma Sooners. Oklahoma had never even won two straight matches to open Big 12 play prior to this season. Aside from No. 1 Nebraska, Oklahoma was the last team to remain perfect in Big 12 play.

THE COMEBACK KIDS
Oklahoma has been at its best during the Big 12 season when trailing. The Sooners have trailed after the first game in five of their six league matches. Four out of the five times, Oklahoma came back to win.

OU opened the conference season against then-No. 25 Texas A&M and was trailing 0-2 before coming back to win three straight and claim the match on the road. The Sooners found themselves in a similar situation against a ranked opponent on the road as they trailed No. 16 Kansas State after dropping the first game 30-16. However, Oklahoma didn't let up as it took the next game and went on to win 3-2 in front of over 1,000 fans at Kansas State.

Oklahoma fell into a 1-0 hole against Baylor in Waco, but rallied back to win 3-1. For the third time this conference season, Oklahoma fell behind by a 2-0 deficit but rallied back to beat Colorado, 3-2.

OU's only loss was against Missouri when it trailed 0-2 and tied it up at 2-2 before falling in the final game, 15-13.

UP NEXT
The Sooners will return to Big 12 play and to the McCasland Field House this Saturday to host the Iowa State Cyclones at 7 p.m. Next Wednesday, Oklahoma will head to Lubbock for a 7 p.m. match against Texas Tech before returning to the Field House on Saturday, Oct. 13 to host top-ranked Nebraska at 1 p.m.

FIVE-GAME SUCCESS
The Sooners have been very successful in five-game matches. Oklahoma has played four five-game matches this season and won three of them. Two of the four matches were against top-25 teams on the road as Oklahoma claimed the match with significant five-game wins. Since the start of the 2006 season, the Sooners are 10-3 in five-game matches.

HOME SWEET HOME
Dating back to last season, the Sooners own a 14-match home win streak at the McCasland Field House. It marks the longest home win streak in the Big 12 era.

HOVERING AROUND THE TOP 25
Oklahoma has been in and out of the top 25 this season. However, the weeks the Sooners haven't been ranked, they have been one of the top teams receiving votes in the poll. Oklahoma was ranked No. 25 in the Sept. 24 poll and fell out of the Oct. 1 poll after its loss to Missouri, but is the third team receiving votes.

Oklahoma was ranked No. 22 in the preseason poll and moved to No. 21 in the Aug. 27 poll before falling out. The Sooners had been ranked in the top 25 for 13 weeks dating back to last season before falling out of the poll earlier this season. It marked the longest stretch in school history.

SOONERS TOUGH IN BIG 12 ROAD PLAY
The Sooners have been tough in Big 12 road play this season with a 3-1 record in some of the tougher venues in the conference. OU's lone loss on the road came against Missouri in a five-game match in front of over 2,000 fans. The Sooners have racked up other road wins over Texas A&M, Kansas State and Baylor.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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