Volleyball Defeats Kansas, 3-1

Nov. 12, 2008

Kansas 1, Oklahoma 3 | Box Score: PDF | HTML | Photos

	1	2	3	4	5	F
Kansas	13	13	25	20	x	1
Oklahoma	25	25	22	25	x	3

Stat Leaders
Oklahoma	Statistic	Kansas
Barnes (26)	Digs	Manda (27)
Barker (46)	Assists	Tate (38)
Laplante (14)	Kills	Kaiser (11)
Ekwerekwu (.308)	Hitting %	Uhart (.286)
Freudenrich (4)	Blocks	Williams (4)

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NORMAN, Okla. – The University of Oklahoma volleyball team defeated the University of Kansas, 3-1, on Wednesday evening at McCasland Field House. The Sooners (11-14, 7-10 Big 12) won the first two sets by identical scores, 25-13, before the Jayhawks (12-13, 6-10 Big 12) won the third set 25-22 before OU took the fourth, 25-20.

Oklahoma was led by junior Bridget Laplante's eight double-double of the season. The Tomball, Texas native tallied 14 kills and 25 digs for the Sooners. Laplante also added to block assists. Freshman setter Brianne Barker recorded her team-leading 15th double-double of the year with 46 assists and 12 digs. Barker added two service aces and two block assists.

Freshman Caitlin Higgins and redshirt sophomore Francie Ekwerekwu each had 12 kills. Higgins tacked on two service aces, while Ekwerekwu led the team with .308 hitting percentage. Sophomore Sarah Freudenrich led OU at the net with five blocks on the evening including one block solo.

Defensively, OU got double-digit digs from Barker, Laplante and senior libero Lacy Barnes. Barnes tied her career high with 26 digs. Freshman defensive specialist Danielle Alva also totaled two service aces and six digs.

Kansas was led by Jenna Kaiser's 11 kills and Nicole Tate's 38 assists. Natalie Uhart added 10 kills, while three Jayhawks had double-digit kills – Melissa Grieb (14), Tate (10) and Melissa Manda (27). Brittany Williams controlled the net for KU, tallying four blocks, including two block solos.

As a team, the Sooners out-blocked the Jayhawks, 10-7. OU recorded a season-high eight service aces and hit .198 on the evening. The Jayhawks hit a .081 clip.

Oklahoma controlled the opening and second sets from the first serve. In the first set, OU hit .281 in the first set, holding KU to a .029 percentage. Higgins paced the Sooners with four kills, while Barker had 10 assists. The set had four ties, all coming early. After OU went up 5-4, the Sooners never looked back. In the second set, 13 OU players saw the floor. Laplante had seven of her kills during the period, while Barker added another 10 assists. During the set, the Sooners hit a .273 clip while holding the Jayhawks to a -.028 percentage.

Following the intermission, the Jayhawks responded to the Sooners' dominance before the break. In a set highlighted by three lead changes and nine ties, the Jayhawks broke a 15-all tie following an OU attack error. From there, KU managed to stay ahead of the Sooners. With Kansas up 21-17, OU came out of the timeout to get one point on a kill from Freudenrich, but the Jayhawks put the set away.

In the fourth set, Oklahoma jumped out to a 7-3 lead before forcing Kansas to take a timeout. Following the short break, the Jayhawks rattled off seven consecutive points to take an 11-7 lead and cause the Sooners to call a timeout. The Jayhawks continued to hold an advantage, leading 15-11. Following Oklahoma's second timeout of the set, the Sooners chipped away at the KU lead and came to within one on a kill from Ekwerekwu.

After the Jayhawks' second timeout, the Sooners rallied and took the lead following Higgins' second service ace. After Ekwerekwu tied to set for the final time at 18-all, Oklahoma capitalized with Barnes serving. OU scored six straight points to go up 23-19. After a Freudenrich kill, the Sooners held match point at 24-19. After an OU service error, Laplante put the set away for the Sooners.

Oklahoma has an open date this weekend before hosting Texas A&M next Wednesday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m. OU closes out their three-match homestand on Saturday, Nov. 22, against Iowa State at 3 p.m. in McCasland Field House.