No. 21 Volleyball Heads to Boulder

Oct. 23, 2007

NORMAN, Okla. - After enjoying a three match home stand, the No. 21 Oklahoma volleyball team will hit the road to face the Colorado Buffaloes (5-14, 0-11 Big 12) Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. (CST) in Boulder, Colo.

The Sooners carry momentum into the match after knocking off No. 14 Kansas State for the second time this season. Oklahoma and Colorado are meeting for the second time this season after OU rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Buffs earlier this season in Norman.

LIVE STATS
Live stats of Wednesday's match will be available at www.cubuffs.com.

THE MATCH UP
Despite owning a 0-11 mark in the Big 12 this season, the Buffs have been extremely competitive. In its 11 conference losses, the Buffs have lost seven of them in five games and two of them in four games. In the earlier meeting against the Sooners, Colorado took control of the match early as it took the quick 2-0 lead and won the first two frames by scores of 30-21 and 30-16.

Oklahoma swung the momentum the other direction in the final three games to win the match. In Big 12 matches only this season, Colorado owns an advantage over the Sooners. The Buff are averaging 2.29 blocks per game compared to OU's 2.18 in conference action. Both squads are hitting at a similar clip as OU is averaging a .185 hitting percentage in Big 12 play compared to OU's .184 mark.

SCOUTING COLORADO
Owning a .184 hitting percentage in Big 12 play, Alex Buth is leading the Buff offense with 3.20 kills per game on a .276 hitting percentage. In the earlier meeting against the Sooners this season, Buth led the Buffs with a double-double as she recorded 15 kills and collected 13 digs. Lauren Schaefer has also been strong offensively with 2.85 kills per game on a .325 clip.

Defensively, the team edged the Sooners in digs and blocks in the earlier meeting this season. Schylur Edelman is leading the defense with 1.18 blocks per game in Big 12 action, which ranks 10th among all Big 12 players. Libero Callie Webster is leading the back row with 4.69 digs per game (second in the Big 12). As a squad, Colorado is collecting 14.63 digs per game in conference action compared to OU' 14.85

LAST TIME THEY MET
Oklahoma hosted Colorado on Sept. 26 earlier this season. The Sooners rallied from a 2-0 deficit to top the Buffaloes. After falling behind by scores of 30-21 and 30-16, Oklahoma won the final three games by scores of 30-18, 30-27 and 15-10 to clinch the match. Despite only recording a .127 hitting percentage against the Buffs in the match, three different Sooners recorded double-digit kills with Bridget Laplante leading the way with a match-high 18 kills while Francie Ekwerekwu followed with 14 and Mariana Blum pounded 10.

SERIES RECORDS
Colorado leads the all-time series between the schools, 33-13. However, since the inception of Big 12 play in 1996, the Buffs own a 17-4 record. Last year's five-game win in Boulder marked the first time the Sooners had won at Colorado since Oct. 13, 1988. In matches in Boulder, CU leads 17-4.

SOONERS AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
Oklahoma owns a 3-3 record against ranked opponents with two five-game road wins over then-No. 25 Texas A&M and No. 16 Kansas State and another defeat over No. 14 Kansas State in Norman. OU dropped a non-conference match to No. 18 San Diego and was swept by No. 1 Nebraska and No. 6 Texas. OU's upset over No. 8 Texas last season marked the school's first win over a ranked team since 1998.

DEFENSE SPARKS SOONERS OVER NO. 14 KSU
The Oklahoma defense led the way as the Sooners knocked off No. 14 Kansas State, 3-1, for the second time this season. OU's defense collected a season-high 90 digs and added 12 total blocks in the four-game win over Kansas State. The total team effort saw five different Sooners record double-digit kills while Mariana Blum and Bridget Laplante collected career highs with 29 and 26 digs, respectively.

BEST START IN SCHOOL HISTORY
The Sooners tied the 1984 squad with the best start in school history. The 1984 team opened the season at 15-4 and the 2007 squad recorded a 15-4 mark before losing to No. 6 Texas. Additionally, OU's 5-0 start to Big 12 play was the best start to Big 12 action ever for the Sooners. Oklahoma had never even won two straight matches to open Big 12 play prior to this season.

UP NEXT
The Sooners will return home on Saturday, Oct. 27 as it hosts Texas A&M at the Field House. The Sooners and Aggies have also already met with OU overcoming a 2-0 deficit and claiming the 3-2 victory in College Station. Oklahoma will hit the road again next Wednesday, Oct. 31 as it takes on No. 5 Texas at 6:30 p.m. in Austin. The road stretch will continue as OU will head to Lawrence, Kan., on Nov. 3 to face the Kansas Jayhawks.

SOONERS MOVE UP TO NO. 21
The Sooners climbed up another two spots to No. 21 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll released on Oct. 22. The ranking comes after OU knocked off No. 14 Kansas State for the second straight time this season. The Sooners moved up two spots from last week's ranking of No. 23.

The Sooners are one of four Big 12 teams ranked in the top-25. Nebraska remains No. 1 in the country with its undefeated record while Texas moved to No. 5 and Kansas State fell to No. 15 in the latest poll. Oklahoma was ranked No. 22 in the preseason poll and moved to No. 21 in the Aug. 27 poll before falling out. Oklahoma reappeared at No. 25 in the Sept. 24 poll and the Oct. 8 poll.

RPI
The Sooners are currently ranked No. 21 in the country, but they have an even higher RPI rating (ratings percentage index). The Sooners were ranked No. 14 in the latest released RPI (Oct. 12). The NCAA releases an RPI rating that is often used by the selection committee to determine what teams are selected for the NCAA Tournament.

SOONERS TOUGH IN BIG 12 ROAD PLAY
The Sooners have been tough in Big 12 road play this season with a 4-1 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, Baylor and Texas Tech.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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