No. 21 Volleyball Heads to Idaho

Aug. 30, 2007

NORMAN, Okla. - The No. 21 Oklahoma volleyball team, fresh off its tournament championship last weekend, will head to Moscow, Idaho this week for the Idaho Classic (Aug. 31-Sept. 1).

The Sooners will open the tournament against Middle Tennessee at 7 p.m. (CST) on Friday. The tournament will conclude on Saturday with OU playing two matches. Oklahoma will match up against Oregon State at 12 p.m. on Saturday and close out the tournament with a 9:30 meeting against host Idaho in the final match of the tournament.

SCOUTING MIDDLE TENNESSEE
The Blue Raiders join Oklahoma as the only two teams entering the tournament with a perfect record. Middle Tennessee is off to its best start since 1995 (4-0) and moved up to No. 33 (or receiving votes) in the AVCA poll this week, its highest ranking in school history. This past weekend the Blue Raiders swept Montana State and Creighton while also defeating 2006 NCAA qualifiers Stephen F. Austin and Iowa State.

Right side hitter Ashley Adams was dominant last weekend for Middle Tennessee as she recorded a double-double in three out of four matches while averaging 5.00 kills per game. Defensively, middle blocker Quanshell Scott has been a force at the net as she is averaging 1.62 blocks per game.

SCOUTING OREGON STATE
Oregon State is coming off a strong weekend after defeating then-No. 10 Hawaii as well as Colorado State this past weekend in Honolulu. The Beavers will enter this weekend's tournament with a 2-1 record after dropping a match to Michigan this past weekend. The Beavers, who are also receiving votes in the top 25, are averaging a .241 hitting percentage on offense while tallying 3.09 blocks per game and 13.91 digs per game on defense.

Individually, sophomore outside hitter Rachel Rourke is leading the team with 4.09 kills per game on a .264 hitting percentage and was key in OSU's upset of Hawaii with 17 kills. Defensively, the Beavers have three different players averaging

SCOUTING IDAHO
The host school, the Idaho Vandals, enter the weekend with a 1-3 record after dropping its first two matches of the year to No. 11 California and Florida International. The Vandals bounced back with a sweep of Northeastern last Saturday, but lost to Washington State on Tuesday night.

As a squad, the team recorded a .162 hitting percentage last weekend while averaging 11.90 digs and 2.60 blocks per game. Junior outside hitter Haley Larsen, a preseason All-WAC selection, has been on a roll at the start of the season. Larsen recorded 4.70 kills per game and collected 2.30 digs per game as she earned all-tournament honors last weekend in Berkley, Calif. Sophomore middle blocker Anna McKinney was also stellar on the defensive end for the Vandals as she averaged a team-best 1.40 blocks per game.

PLAYER TO WATCH: ANNA STADEL
The Sooners lost five seniors last season so it has been key that the 2007 seniors step up. Senior middle blocker Anna Stadel was huge for the Sooners last weekend, leading OU to the Sooner Legends Nike Invitational tournament title. The senior collected MVP honors after leading the team with 3.89 kills per game on an impressive .647, which currently leads all Big 12 players after the first weekend.

IN REWIND
The Oklahoma volleyball team opened the 2007 with a tournament championship. The Sooners swept all three opponents in the Sooner Legends Nike Invitational to claim the title. OU opened the tournament with a 3-0 (30-25, 30-21, 30-24) victory over Denver on Friday night.

The Sooners continued their torrid pace with another sweep, a 3-0 win (30-17, 30-22, 30-20) over Seton Hall on Saturday morning. Oklahoma clinched the title with a sweep over Alabama, who was receiving votes in the top 25. The Sooners dominated the Crimson Tide by scores of 32-30, 30-17 and 30-17.

ANNA STADEL HIGHLIGHTS ALL-TOURNEY TEAM
Oklahoma placed three Sooners on the Sooner Legends Nike Invitational All-Tournament team. Senior middle blocker Anna Stadel highlighted the list as she was named MVP after leading the team with 3.89 kills per game on an impressive .647 hitting percentage.

Joining Stadel on the all-tournament team were fellow seniors Mariana Blum, an outside hitter, and setter Julie Chester. Blum averaged 3.67 kills per game and 3.56 digs per game throughout the tournament while Chester guided the offense to a .312 hitting percentage while averaging 14.33 assists per game.

UP NEXT
Following its trip to Idaho, Oklahoma will hit the road again Sept. 7-8 for another tough non-conference tournament in San Diego, Calif. The Sooners will open the tournament with Virginia on Friday night and close out the tournament on Saturday with matches against UCSB and 12th-ranked host San Diego.

The Sooners will open Big 12 play on Sept. 12 with a road match against Texas A&M and return to the McCasland Field House on Sept. 15 for its conference home opener against Kansas.

SOONERS MOVE UP TO NO. 21 IN AVCA POLL
The University of Oklahoma volleyball team is moved up to No. 21 in the CSTV/AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll that was released on Aug. 27. Oklahoma was ranked No. 22 in the preseason poll that was released on Aug. 14. It marked the first time in school history the Sooners had been ranked in the preseason top 25.

The Sooners have been ranked in the top-25 for 13 straight weeks since entering the poll last October for the first time since 1988, the last time (prior to 2006) in the program's history that the Sooners were slated in the top-25.

OU IN SEASON OPENERS UNDER RESTREPO
Since the inception of the Big 12 era, the Oklahoma volleyball team is 6-6 in season openers. Under head coach Santiago Restrepo (2004 - present), the Sooners own a 3-1 mark after beating Denver in the 2007 season opener. For the second straight year since the inception of the Big 12 Conference, Oklahoma opened the season on its home floor at the Howard McCasland Field House.

16 STRAIGHT POINTS
While there is no record, it seemed that the Oklahoma volleyball team came close to breaking one on Aug. 25 in the championship match against Alabama. The Sooners scored 16 consecutive points against Alabama, possibly one of the longest rallies in OU history. Oklahoma led the second game 19-17 and rattled off 11 straight points to win 30-17 and then opened the third game of the match, 5-0, to score 16 straight points against the Crimson Tide.

SETTING RECORDS
It didn't take long for the 2007 squad to begin placing their name in the record books. Below is a look at two different OU single match records, team and individual, that were broken this past weekend at the Sooner Legends Nike Invitational.

Digs (by team in a three-game match)
Old: 71 vs. Iowa State (10/23/04)
New: 73 vs. Alabama (8/25/07)

Hitting Percentage (Individual in a three-game match)
Old: .652 by Jennifer Adams vs. Providence (9/3/04)
New: .722 by Anna Stadel vs. Denver (8/24/07)

BREAKOUT FRESHMAN
After redshirting last season, freshman Francie Ekwerekwu has started off her rookie campaign with a bang. The Arlington native averaged 2.67 kills per game and 0.50 blocks per game in OU's first tournament of the season and her first collegiate debut. The rookie is one of four new starters on the squad this season.

COLLEGIATE DEBUT
In addition to Francie Ekwerekwu, four other Sooners made their debut in the Crimson and Cream this past weekend, including two that saw their first collegiate action. Sophomore transfers Jackie Fotu and Taylor Harbster saw limited action but Fotu averaged 1.00 kills per game in the two sets she played in. Rookies Samantha Arriaran and Chrissy Disarro also saw time on the court as Arriaran produced two assists while Disarro recorded the first kill of her career against Seton Hall.

LAPLANTE AND BLUM SEEING DOUBLE
In Oklahoma's final match against Alabama, two different Sooners were seeing double. Sophomore Bridget Laplante and senior Mariana Blum recorded OU's first double-doubles of the season. Laplante recorded 10 kills and collected 16 digs while Blum, an all-tournament selection, notched 12 kills and also collected 16 digs.

"BLUMING" SERVES
Head coach Santiago Restrepo's main emphasis during the offseason was for the Sooners to work on their serving. It looks as if it has really paid off as Oklahoma averaged 1.89 serves per game this past weekend. Leading the pack was senior Mariana Blum, who recorded 0.67 aces per game this past weekend, which tied for first among all Big 12 players.

SOONER HITTING PERCENTAGE
While only three matches in to the season, the Sooners have improved upon their hitting percentage. Currently the Sooners own a team hitting percentage of .312 and are leading the conference in kills per game with 17.78 and have two Sooners hitting over .400.

DIGGING IT UP
In addition to serving, Restrepo also had the Sooners work hard on their defense over the spring. It has also paid off as the Sooners, after only three matches, are leading the conference with 19.22 digs per game. Headlining the defense is senior outside hitter Mariana Blum. The senior is leading the squad and ranked fifth in the Big 12 with 4.67 digs per game.

This past weekend Blum led the team in two out of their three matches in digs. Also highlighting the back row defense for the Sooners is Hannah Sharp, who is averaging 4.44 digs per game (seventh in Big 12), while Bridget Laplante ranks 10th in the conference with 3.56 digs per game.

FAST FACTS ON THE 2007 SQUAD
Oklahoma returns only two starters from last year's squad, sophomore Bridget Laplante and senior Sarah Weiland ... OU's newcomer class is one of the largest in history with six rookies and two sophomore transfers ... Jasmine Powell, a freshman from Norman North High School, is the first Oklahoma native to be on the roster in the Restrepo era at OU ... Freshman setter Samantha Arriaran's older sister, Erika, plays basketball at the University of Texas and both are friends with OU's Paris twins ... Freshman Sarah Machen's brother plays quarterback at Baylor.

TOMES REPRESENTS USA
Former Sooner volleyball player Laura Tomes, an All-Big 12 selection last season, represented the United States this past summer as a member of the Women's National Volleyball Team. Tomes played with the USA in the Pan American Cup as well as the Pan Am games as she led the Red, White and Blue to a bronze medal.

Tomes is only the fourth Oklahoma volleyball player in school history to represent the Sooners on a USA National Team. Patrice Arrington, who played on the USA National Team in 2005, was the last Sooner to be named to a USA squad.

ANOTHER TOUGH SCHEDULE
A constant year in and year out in Big 12 play, the Oklahoma volleyball squad has put together another tough schedule for the 2007 season. The Sooners' 30-match schedule features 14 matches against teams that advanced to the NCAA Championship as well as 13 home contests at the Howard McCasland Field House.

Over the course of the season, the Sooners will face currently ranked No. 1 Nebraska (twice), No. 6 Texas (twice) and No. 12 San Diego. Additionally, the Sooners will be pitted against No. 25 Kansas State (twice). The Sooners will also face Missouri and Texas A&M twice as both of them are receiving votes in the current top-25 poll.

RECAPPING 2006
OU finished arguably the best season in program history in 2006, ranked 12th in the final poll with a 28-6 overall record and a second place finish in the Big 12.

Head coach Santiago Restrepo earned Big 12 and Central Region Coach of the Year honors after OU recorded the best winning percentage in school history (.824) and one of the most impressive turnarounds in the country (and best in Big 12 history).

The performance earned Oklahoma a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1997. Oklahoma advanced to the Sweet 16 round for only the second time in school history before falling to Pac-10 powerhouse UCLA.

Two Sooners earned All-America honors, another first since the 1997 season. Senior Eliane Santos was named a third team All-American and Joanna Schmitt earned honorable mention honors.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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