OU Faces No. 2 Nebraska in Lincoln

Nov. 16, 2007

NORMAN, Okla. - No. 22 Oklahoma faces a challenging task Saturday as it heads to Lincoln, Neb., to face the No. 2 Nebraska Cornhuskers (24-1, 16-1 Big 12. The Huskers own a 68-match win streak in the Nebraska Coliseum. The second-ranked Huskers will be the eighth top-25 opponent the Sooners have played this season, including a 3-0 loss to the Huskers earlier this season when they were ranked No. 1 in the country.

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

THE MATCH UP
Since playing the Sooners earlier this season, Nebraska has dropped one match to end its undefeated record for the season. The Huskers only loss this season was to No. 3 Texas as NU fell 3-0 to the Longhorns in Austin. Now both teams are tied for the Big 12 lead with 16-1 records in conference action. Meanwhile Oklahoma and Kansas State are currently fighting for third place spot in the Big 12 standings. The Sooners have swept the Wildcats this season and own a 12-5 record in Big 12 play with three matches remaining. However, Kansas State only has two matches remaining and owns a 13-5 record.

SCOUTING NEBRASKA

The Husker offense hasn't changed since the Sooners played it earlier this year as it still leads the nation in assists (16.70) and kills per game (18.05). In addition, the squad ranks third in the country in hitting percentage with a .327 clip. Nebraska's defense has also been solid as it is holding Big 12 opponents to a .157 hitting percentage, which leads the Big 12, and is also collecting 16.65 digs per game (third in the Big 12).

2006 AVCA National Player of the Year Sarah Pavan is leading a stacked Husker offense as she is tallying 4.99 kills per game while Jordan Larson (3.49 KPG) and Christina Houghtelling (3.18 KPG) are also huge offensive threats. Houghtelling and Pavan were impressive against the Sooners earlier this season as Houghtelling recorded a .609 hitting percentage with 14 kills while Pavan added 16 kills. Tracy Stalls is also extremely consistent with her team-best .441 hitting percentage. Defensively, the teams has three different players averaging over three digs per game with Houghtelling leading the way with 3.96 per game while Rachel Schwartz follows with 3.90 per game. The defense is also averaging 2.72 blocks per game this season.

LAST TIME THEY MET
The Sooners fell to No. 1 Nebraska earlier this season in the two squads meeting in Norman. The Huskers swept the Sooners, 3-0 (30-25, 30-21, 30-25). OU sophomore Bridget Laplante was the bright spot for the Sooner offense that only tallied a .177 hitting percentage. Laplante led the team with 10 kills and 12 digs for a double-double. The Husker offense was solid as hit at a .316 clip as Christina Houghtelling recorded a match-high .609 hitting percentage with 14 kills.

SERIES RECORDS
Nebraska leads the all-time series between the squads, 66-6. OU's last win against the Huskers was on Oct. 10, 1997, marking OU's only win over Nebraska in the Big 12 era. Since OU's win in 1997, the Huskers have rattled off 20 straight against the Sooners.

SOONERS AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
Oklahoma owns a 3-4 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, No. 6 Texas (in Norman) and No. 3 Texas (in Austin).

ANOTHER FIVE-GAME VICTORY FOR OU
Oklahoma improved to 6-2 in five-game matches this season as it edged Baylor, 3-2 (30-27, 27-30, 30-24, 24-30, 16-14), Wednesday night at the McCasland Field House. Julie Chester, who had missed the last two matches due to injury, returned and the led the offense to a .198 hitting percentage with three Sooners recording 15 or more kills. Chester was also solid on defense with 11 digs and three block assists. Freshman Francie Ekwerekwu paced the Sooners with 17 kills on a .519 hitting percentage.

ON PACE WITH 2006
The 2006 squad, which was picked to finish 10th in the conference race, recorded the best record in school history (28-6) and finished second in the Big 12 standings. Now, the 2007 squad is having a similar season to last year's record-breaking season. The Sooners, who were picked to finish ninth in the Big 12 preseason poll this year, are currently 20-7 overall while the 2006 squad was 21-6 after 27 matches In addition, Oklahoma is the surprise of the Big 12 for the second straight year as it is currently in a race for third in the Big 12 standings.

UP NEXT
Oklahoma will return home next Wednesday to host Missouri for its final home match of the regular season and Senior Night. The Sooners will close out the regular season at Iowa State on Nov. 24.

FIVE-GAME SUCCESS
The Sooners have been very successful in five-game matches. Oklahoma has played eight five-game matches this season and won six of them. Five of the seven 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 14-4 in five-game matches. In 2007 alone, OU is 6-2 in five-game matches.

HOME SWEET HOME
OU's 15-match home win streak was snapped by No. 1 Nebraska on Oct. 13. Prior to that OU's last loss at home was in 2006, also to No. 1 Nebraska. Including the 2006 and 2007 seasons, Oklahoma is 23-4 at the McCasland Field House

WINNING GAME ONE=PERFECT
Oklahoma has been perfect this season when it has won the first game of the match. The Sooners are 13-0 when claiming the first game and are only 7-6 when dropping the first frame of the match.

SOONERS MOVE UP TO NO. 22
Oklahoma swept Texas Tech last week and moved up to No. 22 in the AVCA Coaches Poll in the latest released ranking on Nov. 12. Oklahoma jumped up one spot after coming in at No. 23 in last week's poll. The Sooners are one of four Big 12 teams ranked in the top 25. Nebraska stayed at No. 2 and Texas remained in the No. 3 slot. Kansas State, who the Sooners swept this season, also stayed at No. 12 in the latest poll.

SOONERS ADD ANOTHER 20-WIN SEASON
With its win against Baylor on Nov. 14, the Sooners secured their 13th 20-win season. Last season, Oklahoma went 28-6. It marked the first 20-win season for OU since 1997 when the Sooners finished with a 20-13 overall record.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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