Another OU Rally Beats Colorado

Sept. 26, 2007

NORMAN, Okla. - It took another rally, but the No. 25 Oklahoma volleyball team remained perfect in Big 12 play as it knocked off Colorado, 3-2 (21-30, 16-30, 30-18, 30-27, 15-10), Wednesday night inside the Howard McCasland Field House.

Oklahoma pushed its perfect Big 12 record to 5-0 on the season as it rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Buffs. The Sooners have been behind in four of their five Big 12 matches this season and have come back to win. The Sooners improved to 12-2 on the season.

Colorado fell to 5-7 and 0-4 in Big 12 play. All four of the Buffs matches in Big 12 play have gone to five games with the opponent coming out on top.

"Colorado is a very good team and I knew this was going to be a very tough match for us," head coach Santiago Restrepo said. "We finally settled down after the first two games and played our style. Bridget Laplante has been huge for us in the fifth game and she showed it again tonight."

Laplante notched her eighth double-double of the season with a match-high 18 kills and 17 digs. Laplante was crucial in the fifth game as she led the Sooners to a .474 hitting percentage and pounded four kills on a .800 clip while collecting three digs.

Ekwerekwu was also solid for the Sooners on offense with 14 kills on a team-high .323 hitting percentage. The Sooner offense struggled in the first two games as it recorded a -.041 hitting percentage in game one and a .000 clip in game two.

Oklahoma was hurting itself in the first two games as it recorded 12 attack errors in each game. However, the Sooners bounced back in the final three and only totaled 13 errors in the final three games combined.

Defensively, Oklahoma recorded a season-high 14 blocks. Leading the defensive front was Anna Stadel with six block assists while Ekwerekwu and Julie Chester teamed up for four block assists each. Ekwerekwu also added two solo blocks while Chester added one.

Libero Hannah Sharp led the back row effort with 25 digs while Lacy Barnes added 11 and Mariana Blum recorded her team-best 10th double-double of the year with 10 kills and 11 digs.

Following its slow start, the Sooners rallied in the third game behind Ekwerekwu and Laplante's four kills apiece. The difference in the third game was OU's seven team blocks behind Stadel's four block assists and Chester's three block assists.

Oklahoma carried momentum into the fourth game and jumped out to a 24-18 lead but the Buffs tied it back up at 26-26. Stadel notched a kill and an ace to give the Sooners the 28-26 lead and a kill by Laplante sealed the game at 30-27.

The Sooners dominated the fifth game as they opened the final frame with a 7-1 lead. The Buffs ran off a 7-2 rally to close the gap at 9-8. However, the Sooners went on a 6-2 run of their own to clinch the game and the match with a 15-10 win.

Oklahoma will hit the road again this weekend as it heads to Columbia, Mo. to take on Missouri. First serve between the Sooners and Tigers is set for 6:30 p.m. Saturday night.

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