Volleyball Wins Spring Tournament

NORMAN, Okla. The Oklahoma volleyball team continued its spring season this past weekend and had a very successful outing after winning a prestigious spring tournament in Houston, Texas. Strong volleyball schools such as USC, Alabama, Texas A&M and LSU highlighted the 19-team field.

The Sooners won their pool and advanced on to the championship gold bracket where they defeated TCU and LSU before beating Tulane in the tournament final.

“As a team I thought we worked extremely well all weekend,” head coach Santiago Restrepo said. “Julie Chester did a great job setting our hitters up and giving them good opportunities. We had great serving performances from Sarah Weiland and Mariana Blum. The part of our game that I saw the most improvement was our serving and was very pleased with that as well as the overall team effort.”

Spring Season Schedule | 2006 Stats

Oklahoma opened the weekend with an exhibition match, which didn't count towards tournament play, against Rice on Friday night at the Texas Tornados Volleyball Club Facility. The Sooners defeated Rice, 3-1 (24-30, 31-29, 30-25, 30-15), as Sarah Weiland led the way with a .444 hitting percentage. Bridget Laplante and Weiland added 11 kills each while Laplante also led the defense for the Sooners with 13 digs.

The Sooners began tournament action on Friday with a 2-0 (30-20, 30-17) win over Lamar as the team hit at a .346 clip. Anna Stadel highlighted the offense with a .500 hitting percentage while every other team member hit above .250. Weiland was impressive behind the line where she added five aces in the OU's win.

Rounding out pool play, the Sooners defeated New Mexico, 2-1 (27-30, 30-26, 15-8), to advance to the championship bracket. Laplante guided the offense with a .533 clip on 11 kills. Hannah Sharp collected nine digs to lead the Sooner defense.

Oklahoma handed TCU a 2-1 loss (28-30, 30-28, 16-14) in quarterfinal play as the Sooners avenged a loss to the Horned Frogs in an earlier spring tournament. Weiland paced the offense with a .416 clip while Blum added 10 kills in the victory. Sharp was once again the defensive leader with 14 digs.

In semifinal action, the Sooners used a 2-1 (31-29, 30-32, 15-13) close win over NCAA qualifier LSU to move on to the finals. Redshirt freshman Francie Ekwerekwu was consistent on offense with a .428 average while Blum pounded nine kills. Lacy Barnes collected a team-best 11 digs.

The Sooners claimed the championship match with a 30-21, 24-30, 5-10 win over Tulane. The team combined for a .387 hitting percentage behind the play of Stadel, who led all Sooners with a .750 clip. Laplante and Ekwerekwu each hit above .400 while Weiland, playing against her former team, recorded a .500 hitting percentage. Barnes added her second-straight match with 10 or more digs as she collected 10 in the title match.

Oklahoma will close out its spring season this weekend as OU fans will get the chance to see the Sooners in action against Missouri State, North Texas and Arkansas on Saturday, April 21. The Sooners will host all three squads in the McCasland Field House with the first match beginning at 10 a.m. The event is free to the public.

The Sooners, who finished at No. 12 in the 2006 final poll, are replacing a senior class that included four starters and a libero. The senior class will go down as one of the best in OU history as all five received All-Big 12 recognition with Anna Monsen earning Co-Libero of the Year recognition and Eliane Santos collecting Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors. Additionally, Santos and Joanna Schmitt were named third team and honorable mention All-Americans, respectively.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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