Volleyball Sweeps Virginia in San Diego

Sept. 7, 2007

SAN DIEGO - The Oklahoma volleyball team (6-1) opened the San Diego Invitational with a sweep over Virginia (4-3) Friday evening. The Sooners topped the Cavaliers by scores of 30-18, 30-25 and 30-23. It marked OU's fifth sweep of the season.

"I really liked how we opened the match with momentum tonight," head coach Santiago Restrepo said. "I thought Anna Stadel was exceptional tonight and Mariana Blum was also very solid on defense. We face two tough teams tomorrow and I'm looking forward to see how our team responds."

Senior Anna Stadel continued her impressive play during her senior campaign as she led all players with 13 kills on a .462 hitting percentage.

Outside hitter Mariana Blum was also key for the Sooners as she recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 10 kills and a team-best 18 digs, which ties her career high set earlier this season.

The Sooners opened the first game of the match on fire as Oklahoma hit .355 in the first game with only three attack errors while the Oklahoma defense held Virginia to a -.024 hitting percentage as the Sooners dominated the first set, 30-18.

The second game was much closer, but the Sooners were able to hold on as they continued to outhit the Cavaliers, .216 to .184. The Sooners trailed at 3-1 to open the frame, but took the lead at 5-4 and never trailed again as Oklahoma took the second game, 30-25, and led 2-0 after the second set break.

Neither squad was particularly strong on offense in the third set, but Oklahoma held on for the sweep with a 30-23 win in the third set. The Sooner defense held the Cavalier offense to a .163 hitting percentage.

In addition to Blum's stellar defense, libero Hannah Sharp was strong in the back row with 14 digs while sophomore Bridget Laplante was a kill and dig shy of a double-double as she finished with nine each.

At the net, Francie Ekwerekwu and Laplante each added two block assists while Ekwerekwu was also solid on offense with eight kills. Sarah Weiland also pounded eight kills for the Sooner offense.

The Sooners will continue tournament action on Saturday as OU takes on UCSB at 2 p.m. (CST). Oklahoma will close out the USD Invitational with a matchup against No. 18 San Diego at 9 p.m.

Live stats of the matches are available at San Diego's web site, usdtoreros.cstv.com. In addition, OU's match against San Diego will be streamed live on the web site for free.

Volleyball Sweeps Virginia in San Diego

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