Teamwork Propels OU to 3-2 Win

Sept. 27, 2008

Texas Tech 2, Oklahoma 3 | Box Score: PDF | HTML

	1	2	3	4	5	F
Texas Tech	25	21	25	10	12	2
Oklahoma	22	25	21	25	15	3

Stat Leaders
Oklahoma	Statistic	Texas Tech
Barker/Barnes (15)	Digs	Harrell (13)
Barker (47)	Assists	Witte (43)
Boulavsky (13)	Kills	Dowdy (16)
Barnes (1.000)	Hitting %	Baldwin (.375)
Disarro (4)	Blocks	Hood (3)

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NORMAN, Okla. - The University of Oklahoma volleyball team used double-digit kills from five players to come from behind to defeat Texas Tech on Saturday afternoon at McCasland Field House. The Red Raiders (5-10, 0-4 Big 12) won the opening set, 25-22, before the Sooners (7-6, 3-2 Big 12) took the second set 25-21. After the intermission, Tech responded by taking set three, 25-21, but OU took control of the fourth set in a runaway, 25-10. The Sooners fended off the Red Raider attack in the fifth set to win 15-12.

“It's great to get back in the win column,” said OU head coach Santiago Restrepo. “Texas Tech is a good team. They always play us tough, especially today. Luckily, we responded in the fourth set and took the momentum.”

Freshman Suzy Boulavsky tied her season high with 13 kills to lead the offensive attack for the Sooners. Boulavsky hit. 286 on the day and added two block assists. Freshman Caitlin Higgins tallied her sixth double-double of the season and third straight with 12 kills and 13 digs. Redshirt sophomore Francie Ekwerekwu hit. 500 and added 11 kills on the afternoon. Junior Bridget Laplante and sophomore Chrissy Disarro each added 10 kills for OU.

Freshman setter Brianne Barker and senior libero Lacy Barnes led Oklahoma defensively with 15 digs each. Barker's 47 assists gave the Amarillo, Texas native her seventh double-double this season and third straight. In addition to Higgins' 13, Laplante also 13 digs. In a rare occurrence, Barnes netted the third kill of her career, second this season, against the Red Raiders. Disarro led the blocking attack for OU with four blocks on the day.

The opening set saw the two squads trade the lead four times before the Sooners took a 9-6 lead off a Disarro kill. A Sooner miscue brought the two squads to their sixth tie before the Red Raiders rallied off four consecutive points to take a 15-11 lead. From there, OU never got as close as two points and the Red Raiders distanced the point total late in the set to take the 25-22 win.

Oklahoma jumped up 5-1 early in the second set only to see Texas Tech creep back into the set. After a Tech service error brought the set to a 12-all tie, the Sooners got a kill from Boulavsky and help from the Red Raiders to go up 16-12. Texas Tech regained the serve off a kill from Amanda Sbragia and fought to tie the set at 19-all. After the tie, the Sooners took control in the final rallies to take the 25-21 win.

The third set mirrored the first two with the Red Raiders taking a 5-2 lead only to see the Sooners answer to force a 5-all tie. After the two teams traded points, a Texas Tech service error brought the score to 14-all. From there, the Red Raiders took advantage of two OU blocking errors to jump up 19-16 and go on to take the 25-21 win.

Oklahoma dominated the fourth set. The Sooners led 22-9 before a Red Raider kill gave Tech their 10th point of the set. OU went on to win 25-10 to force a fifth and deciding set. In the final set, Oklahoma took an early advantage at 6-3 only to see the Red Raiders get back into the set. After tying the set at 11-all, the Sooners took advantage of two TTU mistakes to go up 13-11. The Sooners finished off the Red Raiders on two kills from Ekwerekwu to win the set, 15-12.

The Sooners continue their homestand Wednesday evening, hosting rival Texas in a 7 p.m. contest from McCasland. The match is scheduled for a national broadcast on ESPNU with Karch Kiraly and Justin Kutcher calling the action. The first 250 fans receive an OU stadium cup and OU students may enjoy free popcorn and drinks from the concession stand with a valid ID.