Volleyball Sweeps No. 21 Texas A&M

Oct. 21, 2009

Oklahoma 3, No. 21 Baylor 0 | Box: PDF | HTML

	1	2	3	4	5	F
Oklahoma	25	25	25	x	x	3
Texas A&M	23	21	23	x	x	0

Stat Leaders
Oklahoma	Statistic	Texas A&M
Boulavsky (16)	Digs	Banse (12)
Barker (31)	Assists	Schevikhoven (26)
Higgins (11)	Kills	Ammerman (13)
Barker (.444)	Hitting %	Banse (.435)
Ekwerekwu (5)	Blocks	Ammerman (4)

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COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Entering Wednesday night's match at No. 21 Texas A&M, the University of Oklahoma volleyball team had never defeated ranked opponents back-to-back. The Sooners marked the item off their to-do list Wednesday evening, downing the Aggies in straight sets [-23, -21, -23] in front of 1,425 at Reed Arena. It also marked Oklahoma's second straight win over a team ranked in the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index top 50. The Sooners were ranked 53rd in the latest NCAA RPI report on Oct. 19.

Oklahoma (13-6, 6-4 Big 12) statistically played evenly against Texas A&M (13-5, 6-4 Big 12) but the Sooners produced a better hitting percentage at .257 to the Aggies' .185 clip. The match lasted just one hour, 32 minutes – aided due to the fact neither team produced a length rally on the night. Oklahoma recorded a higher sideout percentage than the Aggies in all three sets, highlighted by a 71-60 percent margin in the second set.

“We played very calm and collected. We played Oklahoma volleyball,” said head coach Santiago Restrepo. “We were much disciplined on the sideout and played very good defense. We didn't get rattled in a very tough environment.”

Sophomore Caitlin Higgins led OU with 11 kills, hitting .267 on the night. Senior Bridget Laplante and junior Sarah Freudenrich each added eight kills. Laplante hit .438 and added 10 digs, while Freudenrich hit .353 and had two block assists.

Sophomore setter Brianne Barker recorded her 14th double-double of the season with 31 assists and 12 digs. Barker also tied her season high with four block assists in the front row. She hit .444 with five kills. Sophomore Suzy Boulavsky tallied double-digit digs for the second consecutive match with 16 digs.

Junior Francie Ekwerekwu carried the Sooners at the net with five block assists. Ekwerekwu also added seven kills. Freshman Maria Fernanda also contributed 13 digs. Sophomore Danielle Alva subbed in to serve in place of Ekwerekwu and recorded two service aces on the evening.

“Getting back-to-back wins over ranked opponents is a great stepping stone for our program,” Restrepo added. “To be able to do that in this league is a great accomplishment considering the Big 12 usually has five or six ranked team. We're still a young team, and it's good these young ladies are experiencing these situations now. They can build on them down the road.”

With the win, Oklahoma is poised for its first winning season since going 22-10 in 2007. With the second half of the conference schedule set to begin Saturday, the Sooners need just two wins to guarantee at least a 15-14 mark on the year.

Oklahoma continues its road swing this weekend, traveling to No. 5 Nebraska Saturday evening. First serve from Lincoln is set for 7 p.m. CT and live stats are available at SoonerSports.com.