No. 21 OU Downs Colorado, 3-1

Oct. 24, 2007

BOULDER, Colo. - Led by Sarah Weiland's team-high 18 kills, the No. 21 Oklahoma volleyball team topped Colorado, 3-1 (30-27, 24-30, 31-29, 30-25) Wednesday night in Boulder, Colo. The Sooners improved to 17-5 and 9-3 in the Big 12 while CU fell to 5-15 and 0-12 in the league.

In addition to Weiland's 18 kills, she led the team with a .417 hitting percentage with only three errors in 36 attempts. OU also had three other players record double-digit kills as Mariana Blum followed with 14 and Bridget Laplante and Anna Stadel added 10 each.

Laplante collected her 12th double-double of the season as she also collected 11 digs while Hannah Sharp led the back row with 20 digs and setter Julie Chester collected 18 digs while also adding two block assists.

Stadel led OU to nine team blocks with four block assists and a solo block while Franice Ekwerekwu added two block assists and a solo and Blum also tallied two block assists.

Oklahoma put together a key 8-2 run in game one to jump out to a 12-7 lead. Another 4-0 run by the Sooners extended OU's lead to 19-11. OU dominated most of the game until Colorado made it interesting as it went on a 5-1 run to cut the OU lead to 29-27. However, a CU service error ended the game in OU's favor, 30-27. Sarah Weiland led the Oklahoma offense to a .306 hitting percentage in the first frame with her six kills on a .500 hitting percentage.

Colorado jumped out to the 6-3 lead in frame two. The Sooners closed the gap to 7-8, but couldn't take the lead as Colorado built a 12-8 advantage. However, OU put together a rally that began with a Stadel kill and followed with a Taylor Harbster ace that tied it up at 17-17. The Sooners added two more points to their 4-0 rally to take the lead at 19-17. CU put together a 4-0 run to take the lead back at 22-20. A 5-1 run extended CU's lead to 27-22. Oklahoma scored the next two points, but couldn't take advantage as CU went on to score the final three and win 30-24. The OU offense struggled in game two as it only recorded a .133 clip compared to CU's .304. Weiland was OU's offensive leader in frame two with six more kills.

The Sooners opened frame three with the lead until the Buffs took their first lead of the game at 16-15. The Buffs extended their lead with three straight aces by Gibson to take the 22-17 lead. Three CU errors and an Ekwerekwu kill closed the gap as the Sooners got within striking distance at 23-21. Three straight OU kills by Weiland, Blum and Chester tied the match up at 24-24. The Sooners took the lead back at 26-25 with two straight blocks, but CU tied it up again with a block of its own. CU took the advantage at 28-27 following a kill and a block, but a Stadel kill tied it up again at 28-28. The two squads followed that with another tie at 29-29 but OU scored the final two points, including a Weiland kill on match point, to win 31-29.

Game four was similar to the first three with both squads battling back and forth. However, OU jumped out to an 8-6 lead that set the tone for the match. Colorado tied it up at 10-10, but could never take the lead as the Sooners took a 20-14 advantage and forced CU to call a timeout. CU closed the gap at 29-25 but couldn't bounce back as OU went on to take the game and the match with a Chrissy Disarro kill.

The Sooners return to the McCasland Field House this Saturday as they host the Texas A&M Aggies at 7 p.m. The first 500 fans through the door will receive a free Halloween drawstring bag.

Next Event

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics