Volleyball Hosts Iowa State Saturday

Oct. 4, 2007

NORMAN, Okla. - The Oklahoma volleyball team will look to defend its 14-match home winning streak this Saturday as it hosts the Iowa State Cyclones at 7 p.m. inside the Howard McCasland Field House. OU (13-3) and Iowa State (11-5) both enter Saturday night's match with a 5-1 Big 12 record and are both receiving votes in the top 25.

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

PROMOTIONS & TICKETS
The first 250 fans for Saturday night's match will receive a free OU team picture and an autograph session will follow the match. Admission will be $7 for adults and $5 for children. All OU students are admitted free with an OU ID.

THE MATCH UP
The Sooners and Cyclones are meeting for the 59th time in series history and both squads are sitting near the top of the Big 12 standings with a 5-1 mark in Big 12 action. Oklahoma owns a perfect 5-0 record at home this season while ISU has won 10 of its last 11 matches, with its only defeat to then-No. 7 Texas. The Sooners are coming off a close five-game win against TCU on Wednesday night while the Cyclones swept Kansas.

Statistically, ISU owns an advantage at the net with 3.40 blocks per game compared to OU's 2.06. However, OU makes up for it in digs where it is collecting 16.35 digs per game compared to ISU's 15.59. Offensively, both squads are very similar in hitting percentage as OU is hitting at a .228 clip while ISU is recording a .223 mark.

SCOUTING IOWA STATE
AVCA honorable mention All-American Erin Boeve returns to the Cyclone lineup this season. The outside hitter is leading the Cyclones with 3.86 kills per game and has been even more impressive in Big 12 action where she is averaging 4.10 kills per game (fourth in the Big 12) on a .271 hitting percentage. In addition, she is averaging 1.19 blocks per game in conference action. Lauren Cummings (3.38 KPG) and Mary Bisenius (3.14 KPG) have also been solid offensive contributors. In addition to Boeve, Jen Malcom is averaging 1.14 KPG and Diane Kieger is recording 1.20 BPG.

PLAYER TO WATCH: SARAH WEILAND
Senior outside hitter Sarah Weiland is coming off a career night against TCU where she recorded a career-high 24 kills and also collected a career-high 20 digs for her first double-double of the season. The senior has been OU's most efficient hitter this season as she is leading the team with a .313 hitting percentage and is averaging 3.08 kills per game.

LAST TIME THEY MET
Oklahoma swept Iowa State last season in the two meetings. The last match was in Norman on Nov. 11, 2006 with the Sooners edging the Cyclones, 3-2 (30-16, 28-30, 25-3, 30-21, 15-5). The Sooners swept the Cyclones in the first meeting in 2006 in Ames by scores of 30-21, 31-29, 32-30.

In the combined two matches against the Cyclones last season, the Sooners recorded a .295 hitting percentage and held ISU to a .140 clip. Bridget Laplante was stellar in both matches as she averaged 3.25 KPG on a .323 hitting percentage while also collecting 2.75 DPG.

SERIES RECORDS
Oklahoma leads the series between the two squads, 38-20. Since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996, Oklahoma leads the Cyclones 15-6. Oklahoma won two last season and Iowa State won two straight in 2005.

WEILAND LEADS OU PAST TCU, 3-2
Led by Sarah Weiland's career-high 24 kills and 20 digs and Julie Chester's career-high 70 assists, the Sooners edged TCU, 3-2 (29-31, 30-25, 18-30, 30-27, 17-15) in a non-conference match on Wednesday night. Oklahoma recorded 20 more kills than the Horned Frogs and had five Sooners collect double-digit digs as OU out dug the Frogs, 81-65. It marked the fourth time in the last five matches the Sooners have gone to five games.

BEST BIG 12 START EVER
Despite OU's loss to Missouri last week, 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 in conference 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
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 five five-game matches this season and won four of them. Three of the four matches were against teams on the road, including two that were in the top 25 at the time. Since the start of the 2006 season, the Sooners are 11-3 in five-game matches. In 2007 alone, OU is 4-1 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 for the Sooners 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.

LOOKING SHARP
Senior libero Hannah Sharp has looked solid defensively so far this season as she leads the defense with 4.16 digs per game (fourth in the Big 12). The senior also set a career high against Oregon State as she collected 25 digs against the Beavers. Sharp has collected double-digit digs in 15 of OU's 16 matches this season.

CAREER NIGHT
Oklahoma's five-game match against TCU marked a career-high for many Sooners. Senior Sarah Weiland notched two career highs with 24 kills and 20 digs. Setter Julie Chester added a career-high 70 kills while defensive specialist Lacy Barnes was solid with a career-high 16 digs.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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