Volleyball Hosts Tech Wednesday

Nov. 6, 2007

NORMAN, Okla. - The No. 23 Oklahoma volleyball team (18-7, 10-5 Big 12) returns to the Field House this Wednesday as it hosts Texas Tech (7-17, 1-14 Big 12) at 7 p.m. The Sooners will be aiming to get back on a winning track after dropping two matches last week while the Red Raiders also dropped a loss last week to Colorado.

LIVE STATS
Live stats of Wednesday's match will be available at SoonerSports.com. A live webcast of the match will also be available on OU's All-Access section of the web site for a fee.

PROMOTIONS/TICKETS
The first 250 fans through the door will receive a free OU fan banner. OU students receive free admission with valid student ID. Regular prices are $7 for adults and $5 for youth. Children five and under receive free admission.

THE MATCH UP
Despite its two losses last week, OU still remains in third place in the Big 12 race while Texas Tech sits in a tie with Colorado for last place in the league. The Red Raiders are 0-7 in conference road matches this season while OU is 5-2 in Big 12 matches at the McCasland Field House. OU's only two losses at home this season were against current No. 2 Nebraska and No. 3 Texas. In conference action, the Sooners lead the Red Raiders in every category except for blocks per game as TTU owns the slight edge with 2.29 BPG to OU's 2.20. The two squads met up earlier this season in Lubbock as OU came away with its only Big 12 sweep of the season, but the Red Raiders did outblock the Sooners in the match, 13.5 to nine.

SCOUTING TEXAS TECH
The Red Raiders biggest strength is their blocking as they rank eighth in the league with 2.29 blocks per game. Leading the defense is Brandi Hood, who is averaging 1.04 blocks per game, while Alicia Ostmeyer adds 0.90 blocks per game and Amy Gandy follows with 0.70 blocks per game. Gandy led the team against the Sooners earlier this season with six block assists while Ostmeyer added four block assists and Hood added three with a solo block.

Offensively, the squad owns a .142 hitting percentage in conference action . Gandy is leading the offense with 2.72 kills per game while Michelle Flores averages 2.58 KPG and Ostmeyer follows with 2.28 KPG.

PLAYER TO WATCH: MARIANA BLUM
Senior Mariana Blum has hit her stride again as she is coming off a strong Offensive week where she averaged 4.12 KPG on a .333 hitting percentage in OU's two matches last week. In addition, Blum is tied with Bridget Laplante for a team-best 14 double-doubles this season. Blum has also led the team in scoring in eight different matches this season, which is the best of any other Sooner.

LAST TIME THEY MET
The Sooners recorded their lone Big 12 sweep of the season against Texas Tech in Lubbock earlier this season. The Sooners swept the Red Raiders, 3-0 (30-28, 30-26, 30-18). Middle blockers Anna Stadel and Francie Ekwerekwu were the leaders for the Sooners both offensively and defensively. Stadel recorded a match-high 12 kills while adding three block assists and a solo block on defense. Fellow middle blocker Francie Ekwerekwu was equally impressive with 11 kills on a .400 clip while adding five block assists.

SERIES RECORDS
Texas Tech leads the series between the two squads, 34-17. Since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996, Texas Tech leads the Sooners 15-8. However, Oklahoma has claimed four straight in the series.

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). OU's upset over No. 8 Texas last season marked the school's first win over a ranked team since 1998.

SOONERS FALL TO KANSAS IN FIVE
Despite OU's offensive performance against the Jayhawks Saturday night, the Sooners dropped the match, 3-2, to KU in Lawrence. Led by setter Samantha Arriaran, who was filling for injured Julie Chester, the Sooners recorded a .237 hitting percentage and had four different players record double-digit kills. In addition, the defense tallied a season-high 15 team blocks. However, the difference in the match was OU's 12 service errors as well as only collecting 69 digs to KU's 81. Mariana Blum led the offense with 22 kills on a .487 clip while Francie Ekwerekwu recorded a career-best four solo blocks.

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 18-7 overall while the 2006 squad was 19-5 after 25 matches In addition, Oklahoma is the surprise of the Big 12 for the second straight year as it is currently in third in the Big 12 standings.

UP NEXT
The Sooners will enjoy their bye weekend on Saturday before welcoming Baylor to the McCasland Field House on Nov. 14 at 7 p.m.

BEST START IN SCHOOL HISTORY
The Sooners tied the 1984 squad with the best start in school history. The 1984 team opened the season at 15-4 and the 2007 squad recorded a 15-4 mark before losing to No. 6 Texas. Additionally, OU's 5-0 start to Big 12 play was the best start to Big 12 action ever for the Sooners.

FIVE-GAME SUCCESS
The Sooners have been very successful in five-game matches. Oklahoma has played seven five-game matches this season and won five 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 12-4 in five-game matches. In 2007 alone, OU is 5-2 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 21-4 at the McCasland Field House.

SOONERS STAY IN TOP 25, FALL TO NO. 23
A week after jumping to its highest ranking of the season (No. 18), the Oklahoma volleyball team fell to No. 23 in the latest AVCA poll released on Nov. 5. The Sooners fell five spots in the rankings after dropping two road matches last week to No. 3 Texas and Kansas. 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. 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 and the Oct. 8 poll and had3 moved up at least two spots every week since then until falling to No. 23 this week.

SOONERS TWO SHY OF 20-WIN MARK The Sooners need two more wins to complete their 13th 20-win season in school history. 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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