Volleyball Wraps Up Preseason

Aug. 23, 2008

NORMAN, Okla. - The University of Oklahoma volleyball team concluded its preseason preparation on Saturday morning with the Crimson and Cream intrasquad scrimmage. The cream squad won in four sets, 25-18, 25-21, 22-25 and 25-18 at the Howard McCasland Field House.

“The scrimmage went well,” said OU head coach Santiago Restrepo. “It was good for our fans to get to see this team play. We wanted the freshmen to get their feet wet. It was a very good crowd for them to play in front of.”

Junior Bridget Laplante led the cream squad with a match-high 17 kills and matching 17 digs. Senior Lacy Barnes led the team with a match-high 27 digs. Freshman setter Brianne Barker added six kills in 10 total attempts. Barker assisted on 41 kills on the day. Junior Jackie Fotu also added 11 kills. Fotu and redshirt freshman Sarah Machen were the cream's top blockers with six each. All of Machen's blocks were assisted, while Fotu had one block solo and five block assists.

Freshman Caitlin Higgins tallied 13 kills to lead the crimson team. Freshman Kylie Cowan led team in assists with 27. Sophomore Chrissy Disarro had with two block solos and two block assists. Redshirt freshman Megan Bess totaled 20 digs on the day, while Higgins added 17 and sophomore Jasmine Powell contributed 16.

The cream squad led from the first point of the opening set to take the 25-18 win. In the second set, the team's traded the lead until a kill by Fotu gave the cream squad an 11-10 lead and put them ahead for the final time in the 25-21 win. The crimson team answered in the third set. After a tie at 7-all, the crimson team pulled away to take the 25-22 to win and force a fourth set. In the final set, the cream team jumped up 17-9 before the crimson team slowly began to cut into that lead. After holding at 20, the cream team finally scored the deciding points to take the fourth set, 25-18, and the match 3-1.

Prior to the match, the team hosted a kids clinic. Following the match, fans joined the team for a pizza picnic outside on the Field House lawn.

“It was great to see so many kids here this morning,” Restrepo said. “It's great to see everyone come out and it shows the support we've gotten in the last few years. We appreciated all of them being here. We're hoping they'll continue to come out.”

Oklahoma opens the 2008 season next weekend, Aug. 29-30, hosting the Sooner Legends Nike Invitational Friday and Saturday at the Field House. OU begins play Friday morning, facing Michigan State at 10 a.m. The Sooners take on Wichita State Friday night at 8 p.m. OU closes the tournament Saturday afternoon with 10th-ranked Cal Poly at 1 p.m. Admission is free to all games of the tournament.

Players Mentioned

Brianne Barker

Lacy Barnes

Kylie Cowan

Chrissy Disarro

Jackie Fotu

Caitlin Higgins

Bridget Laplante

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics