Volleyball Knocks Off No. 16 KSU

Sept. 19, 2007

MANHATTAN, Kan. - For the second straight week the Oklahoma volleyball team knocked off a top-25 team on the road as the Sooners edged No. 16 Kansas State, 3-2 (16-30, 30-28, 30-26, 16-30, 15-13), Wednesday night in Manhattan.

Oklahoma improved to 10-2 and 3-0 in the Big 12 and ended KSU's five-match win streak as the Wildcats fell to 10-3 and 2-1 in the conference. Last week, Oklahoma knocked off then-No. 25 Texas A&M, 3-2, in College Station.

"This was another great win for our program," head coach Santiago Restrepo said. "I can't say enough about the way our girls competed tonight against a strong Kansas State team. I'm very proud of them for fighting back after losing the first game."

Anna Stadel had an impressive outing in her hometown state. The Osage City, Kan. native was a bright spot for the Sooner offense that only recorded a .141 hitting percentage as she notched a team-high 15 kills while adding five block assists and one solo block on defense.

Bridget Laplante (12 kills), Mariana Blum (11 kills) and Sarah Weiland (10 kills) all added double-digit kills. Blum added her team-best ninth double-double of the season with 11 kills and 11 digs.

Hannah Sharp led the defensive front with 14 digs while Laplante, Ekwerekwu and Blum all added two block assists to OU's team total of 10.

The fifth and deciding game went back and forth as KSU took its largest lead at 9-7, but a Laplante kill and Weiland solo block tied it up again at 9-9. The Wildcats used two straight kills to take the lead back at 11-9 but Oklahoma didn't let up, scoring the next three points to take the 12-11 lead. The teams continued to go back and forth with the score tied at 13-13. Mariana Blum added a kill to take the 14-13 lead and Lacy Barnes' ace sealed the win for the Sooners.

The 16th-ranked Wildcats opened the match with momentum as they jumped out to a 9-3 lead in game one. However, Oklahoma closed the gap with three straight kills but KSU went on another rally jumping out to a 15-8 lead. The Wildcats continued the momentum as they rolled to a 23-13 lead before Oklahoma called a time out, but KSU continued to dominate the match as it scored six of the final seven points to win 30-16.

The OU offense couldn't get anything going in game one as it recorded a -.097 hitting percentage while KSU's defense recorded seven blocks while KSU's Jenny Jantsch and Rita Liliom added four kills each for the offense.

The second set saw both teams fighting for every point as there were 14 ties and four lead changes. Trailing 23-20, Oklahoma tied it up after a Stadel kill, a KSU lift violation and a key block by Julie Chester and Francie Ekwerekwu. The tied score forced KSU to call a time out. The Wildcats came out with three straight points after the time out but OU took didn't look lost its momentum as the Sooners took the game, 30-28, with a solo block by Anna Stadel.

Oklahoma jumped out to its largest lead of the match in the third set as it led 10-5, forcing KSU to take an early time out. The Wildcats roared back following the time out as they went on a 5-0 rally to close the gap, 13-12, but Oklahoma answered and took the 17-13 lead following another OU block by Laplante and Stadel. The Sooners never looked back as they continued to build their lead to win 30-26.

The Wildcats opened the fourth set on fire as they jumped out to a 15-9 advantage before Oklahoma called a time out. However, that didn't slow KSU as it dominated the entire set, 30-16, to push a game five.

The Sooners will continue their road trip as they head to Waco, Texas this Saturday for a match against the Baylor Bears at 7 p.m.

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