No. 25 Volleyball Heads to Lubbock

Oct. 9, 2007

NORMAN, Okla. - After extending its home-winning streak to 15 last Saturday with a five-game win over Iowa State, the No. 25 Oklahoma volleyball team (14-3, 6-1 Big 12) will hit the road this Wednesday for a 7 p.m. meeting with Texas Tech (7-10, 1-7 Big 12).

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

THE MATCH UP
Oklahoma and Texas Tech enter Wednesday night's match in different circumstances. The Red Raiders opened Big 12 play with a win over Colorado and have dropped seven straight conference matches since. The Sooners have won six of their last seven league matches but none have come easy as OU has played five of its Big 12 matches to five games. Oklahoma has produced a 3-1 record on the road in Big 12 play while Tech is 1-3 in home conference matches this season.

Statistically, OU leads the Red Raiders in every category except for blocks. The Red Raiders are averaging 2.15 blocks per game while the Sooners are tallying a 2.06 mark.

SCOUTING TEXAS TECH I
n Big 12 action only this season the Red Raider defense is averaging 2.10 blocks per game and 13.77 digs per game. Brandi Hood is leading Tech's defense at the net as she is averaging 1.00 blocks per game while Alicia Ostmeyer complements her with 0.87 blocks per game. Libero Jenn Harrell is TTU's top defender in the back row as she is collecting a team-best 3.87 digs per game while Amy Gandy follows with 2.81 digs per game.

Offensively, Tech is recording a .151 hitting percentage in conference only matches while averaging 12.32 kills per game. Michelle Flores (2.74 KPG) and Ostmeyer (2.55 KPG) are the Red Raiders' top offensive producers. Setter Emily Ziegler is averaging 9.81 assists per game for the offense.

LAST TIME THEY MET
Oklahoma and Texas Tech have played some close matches over the years and last season was no different. In the two squad's final meeting of 2006 in Norman, Oklahoma edged Texas Tech, 3-1 (27-30, 30-28, 30-22, 30-28).

Earlier in the 2006 season, both teams put up quite a battle in Lubbock. The Sooners rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Red Raiders, 3-2 (21-30, 18-30, 30-25, 30-24, 15-18).

Neither team was very solid offensively as each team hit a combined .194 hitting percentage in the two matches. Former Sooners Joanna Schmitt and Laura Tomes were the top offensive producers for the Sooners in the two matches.

SERIES RECORDS
Texas Tech leads the series between the two squads, 34-16. Since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996, Texas Tech leads the Sooners 15-7. However, Oklahoma has claimed four of the last five from the Red Raiders.

PLAYER TO WATCH: SARAH WEILAND
Senior outside hitter Sarah Weiland is coming off her best week of the season where she averaged 4.30 kills per game on a .305 hitting percentage while also collecting 3.00 digs per game. She had 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. She followed that with her second double-double of the season against Iowa State.

ANOTHER FIVE-GAME WIN AS OU TOPS ISU
The Cyclones were better in every statistical category last Saturday night, but they couldn't overcome the scrappy Sooners as OU defeated Iowa State, 3-2 (19-30, 30-24, 29-31, 30-26, 15-12). Sarah Weiland was the leader for the second straight match as she recorded her second consecutive double-double (19 kills, 10 digs).

BEST BIG 12 START EVER
Despite OU's loss to Missouri on Sept. 29, 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 six of their seven league matches. Five out of the six 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. Oklahoma fell behind by a 2-0 deficit but rallied back to beat Colorado, 3-2.

OU's only loss in conference so far this season was against Missouri when it trailed 0-2 and tied it up at 2-2 before falling in the final game, 15-13. Oklahoma trailed 1-0 to Iowa State and rallied for another comeback, winning game five, 15-12.

UP NEXT
Following its road trip to Lubbock, the Sooners will face a tough challenge on Saturday as they host the undefeated and top-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers. First serve is set for 1 p.m., which allows fans to catch the volleyball match prior to OU's 5:30 p.m. football game.

FIVE-GAME SUCCESS
The Sooners have been very successful in five-game matches. Oklahoma has played six five-game matches this season and won five 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 12-3 in five-game matches. In 2007 alone, OU is 5-1 in five-game matches.

HOME SWEET HOME
Dating back to last season, the Sooners own a 15-match home win streak at the McCasland Field House. It marks the longest home win streak for the Sooners in the Big 12 era. OU's last loss in the Field House was to top-ranked Nebraska on Sept. 16, 2006.

SOONERS RETURN TO TOP 25
Following its five-game win over Iowa State Saturday night, the Oklahoma volleyball team bounced back into the national rankings at No. 25 in the AVCA Coaches Poll released on Monday, Oct. 8.

The Sooners are one of four Big 12 teams ranked in the top-25. Oklahoma will host all three teams in the span of a week beginning this Saturday with a 1 p.m. meeting against top-ranked Nebraska at the McCasland Field House.

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, but was just receiving votes last week.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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