Volleyball Cruises to Tournament Title

Aug. 25, 2007

NORMAN, Okla. - The No. 22 Oklahoma volleyball team remained perfect in its opening weekend of play as it captured the Sooner Legends Nike Invitational tournament title with a dominating sweep of Alabama, who was receiving votes in the top 25.

The Sooners knocked off the Crimson Tide, 3-0 (32-30, 30-17, 30-17), in front of 592 fans inside the Howard McCasland Field House Saturday night.

OU swept Denver on Friday night and Seton Hall on Saturday morning before knocking off Alabama. Anna Stadel was named MVP of the tournament while fellow Sooners Mariana Blum and Julie Chester joined Stadel on the all-tournament squad.

"We beat an extremely talented Alabama squad tonight," head coach Santiago Restrepo said. "That is just a testament to our team and how hard they have been working. I was very pleased with how we progressed each match and we are going to continue to do that every match we play. It was a great opening weekend for us and for our fans."

OU and Alabama went back and forth in the first set with 15 ties and six lead changes. However, the Sooners didn't make it much of a match in the second and third games. Oklahoma closed out game two scoring 11 straight points and then opened the third frame with five straight points.

"I don't know that I have ever seen a team record 16 straight points in my coaching career so that was really exciting tonight," Restrepo said.

Stadel opened her senior season with a bang as she averaged 3.89 kills on a .647 hitting percentage through three matches. The middle blocker was very consistent at the net all weekend as she only notched two hitting errors the entire tournament and also averaged 0.89 blocks per game on defense. She closed out the tournament with 10 kills against Alabama as well as four block assists.

Chester, OU's senior setter, guided the Sooner offense to a .312 hitting percentage over the weekend. In addition to her highlights on offense, Chester also averaged 2.56 digs per game on the defensive end for the Sooners.

Recording a double-double against the Crimson Tide, Blum notched 12 kills and 16 digs while averaging 3.67 kills per game and a team-best 4.67 digs per game during the tournament.

"It was a total team effort this weekend and I'm very proud of our entire team," Restrepo added.

Senior outside hitter Sarah Weiland was very steady for the Sooners all weekend and added 12 kills and five digs in the championship match while redshirt freshmen Francie Ekwerekwu has adjusted well to the collegiate level as she averaged 2.67 kills per game during the tournament.

The Sooners will return to action next weekend in Moscow, Idaho for a tournament. Oklahoma will open with a matchup against Middle Tennessee State on Friday (Aug. 31) and close out the tournament with a meeting against Oregon State and host school Idaho on Saturday.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Volleyball Cruises to Tournament Title

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