Volleyball Falls in Four to ISU

Nov. 24, 2007

AMES, Iowa - The No. 21 Oklahoma volleyball fell to Iowa State, 3-1 (30-23, 29-31, 30-18, 30-22), Saturday night in its regular season finale.

The Sooners fell to 21-9 and 13-7 in the Big 12 and finished fourth in the Big 12 Conference race after being picked to finish ninth in the conference preseason poll. The Cyclones improved to 17-13 and 11-9 in the Big 12. The two squads split for the season as OU knocked off ISU in Norman earlier this season.

The Sooners will now find out their NCAA fate as the 64-team field is announced on Sunday at 7 p.m. on ESPNU. Oklahoma is aiming for its second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament and fifth in school history. The first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament will run Nov. 29-Dec. 2.

The Iowa State defense held the Sooners to a .153 hitting percentage as the Cyclones recorded 12 team blocks and 80 digs compared to OU's 72 digs and nine team blocks. ISU had a better outing on offense with a .233 hitting percentage.

Middle blocker Francie Ekwerekwu continued her stellar play in the middle as she recorded her second straight match with double-digit kills and a hitting percentage above .400. The redshirt freshman notched 12 kills on a .458 hitting percentage. She was also stellar on defense as she led the team in blocks with three block assists and two solo blocks.

Outside hitter Mariana Blum recorded her team-leading 17th double-double of the season. Blum led the squad with 13 kills and also collected 13 digs. Senior Sarah Weiland also added to OU's offense as she pounded 11 kills. I

n addition to Ekwerekwu's defense, libero Hannah Sharp collected a match-high 25 digs while sophomore Bridget Laplante collected 16 digs. Laplante also tallied three block assists while middle blocker Anna Stadel notched three block assists as well.

The Big 12's leading blocker, Iowa State's Erin Boeve, led the ISU defense with five block assists and a solo block. She was also stellar on offense with 12 kills. ISU's Ashley Mass led the back row effort with a match-high 30 digs.

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