Sooners Host Kansas Saturday

Nov. 6, 2009

Kansas (13-10, 5-8 Big 12) at Oklahoma (16-7, 9-5 Big 12)
Match 24	Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009 \| 2 p.m. CT
Location	Norman, Okla. \| McCasland Field House (2,000)
Tickets	$8 (adults) \| $youth
Promotions	Free popcorn and Coke \| Post-match autographs
Internet	Live Stats
Game Info	2009 Media Guide \| Match Notes

OKLAHOMA LOOKS TO SPLIT SERIES WITH KANSAS
The University of Oklahoma volleyball team looks to avenge an earlier season loss to the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday afternoon. First serve from McCasland Field House is set for 2 p.m. CT.

SOONERS REWIND: OU SWEEPS NO. 20 BAYLOR
The University of Oklahoma volleyball team dropped No. 20 Baylor in straight sets (-22, -20, 22) on Wednesday evening. Francie Ekwerekwu led Oklahoma with a season-high 18 kills and a .654 hitting percentage, committing just one attack error in 26 attempts. Suzy Boulavsky added 13 kills, while Caitlin Higgins added 10. Defensively, three Sooners totaled double-digit digs with Bridget Laplante leading the way with 15. María Fernanda added 11, and Brianne Barker contributed 10. Barker also dished out 44 assists for her 18th double-double this season.

SOONERS RAISE FUNDS FOR JIMMY EVEREST CENTER
University of Oklahoma volleyball fans contributed more than $4,000 to the Jimmy Everest Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at the Children's Hospital at OU Medical Center during the team's Pledge for a Cure event on Sept. 30. Visit SoonerSports.com for details on how fans can still contribute monetary donations in memory of Javier Restrepo. To date, contributions total more than $9,700.

OKLAHOMA'S DEFENSE ONE OF NATION'S BEST
Oklahoma is second the Big 12 in digs per set with 17.83, a mark that is 11th in the nation. National leader NJIT averages 20.24 per set. Freshman María Fernanda ranks third in the league in digs per set and 54th in the nation with 4.67 per set.

FREUDENRICH RANKED IN TOP 150 NATIONALLY
Sarah Freudenrich ranks in the top 150 nationally in blocks per set (93rd, 1.08/set) and hitting percentage (112th, .314). Francie Ekwerekwu is 177th in the nation in blocks (0.95/set).

RESTREPO THREE WINS SHY OF #100
Oklahoma head coach Santiago Restrepo is three wins shy of his 100th victory at the school. In six seasons overseeing the Sooner program, Restrepo owns a mark of 97-78.

LAPLANTE'S CAREER ACCOMPLISHMENT
Bridget Laplante has reached the 1,000/1,000 mark for her career. Laplante (1,094 kills and 1,258 digs) becomes just the second Sooner under Santiago Restrepo to reach the plateau after Joanna Schmitt accomplished the feat from 2003-06 with 1,730 career kills and 1,177 career digs.

REMEMBERING JAVI: SOONERS CONTINUE MISSION
Throughout the 2009 season, the Oklahoma volleyball team continues their year-long mission to honor the son of their head coach, Santiago Restrepo. When he was just one-and-a-half years old, Javier Restrepo was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). In August 2008, he had a relapse and received a bone marrow transplant and then received a liver transplant but unfortunately relapsed again. Javi fought the disease like a true champion, nearly beating it on multiple occasions before it ultimately claimed his life on July 31, 2009.

OKLAHOMA MATCHES MARK
Under Santiago Restrepo, Oklahoma is 9-42 against ranked opponents with seven of those wins coming in the last three seasons. With the win at Baylor Wednesday night, OU matched a program high with its third win over a ranked opponent this season. Oklahoma went 3-6 against ranked foes in 2007 and is 3-5 this year.

LAPLANTE NAMED TO COMMUNITY OF CHAMPIONS
University of Oklahoma volleyball student-athlete Bridget Laplante has been honored by the Big 12 Conference as a member of the fall Chick-fil-a Community of Champions. She is actively involved with various projects around the Norman area, including serving as a volunteer for Race for the Cure, Special Olympics, the Oklahoma City Memorial Kids' Run and KinderCare. A member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Laplante is also a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Society of Women Engineers, Alpha Lambda Delta Honors Society and the Sigma Alpha Pi Leadership Society. Laplante is a standout in the classroom, earning Academic All-Big 12 first team honors the past two seasons. She was named to the College of Engineering Dean's Honor Roll and Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll the past three seasons.

BOULAVSKY, HIGGINS NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
University of Oklahoma volleyball student-athletes Suzy Boulavsky and Caitlin Higgins were named 2009 College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-District. Boulavsky earned first team honors, while Higgins was named to the third team. Boulavsky boasts a 3.90 grade point average in journalism and was one of two sophomores named to the first team. Boulavsky currently leads Oklahoma with 2.90 kills per set, having 238 on the year. She also averages 1.24 digs per set and has recorded the first two double-doubles of her career this year. Boulavsky is second on the team with a 3.31 points per set average. Higgins has a 3.39 GPA in general studies.

A WINNING REGULAR SEASON
After finishing last season two wins shy of a .500 mark (12-16), the 2009 Sooners clinched a winning regular season after defeating Kansas State on Oct. 31.

BOULAVSKY EMERGING AS THREAT
Sophomore Suzy Boulavsky is finally getting her due as an offensive threat. Boulavsky leads OU with 238 kills and a 2.90 kps average on the year and has produced double-digit totals in 12 matches.

OU DOWNS RANKED OPPONENTS
Oklahoma defeated No. 19 Baylor 3-2 on Oct. 17 and followed by sweeping No. 21 Texas A&M on Oct. 21. It marked the first time in school history the Sooners defeated ranked opponents in back-to-back matches.

ONE-WOMAN WRECKING CREW
Sarah Freudenrich is causing havoc in most matches she has played in this season. Freudenrich is averaging 2.31 kills per set and hitting a team-best .314. In 84 sets played this season, she has 10 or more kills in 10 of those contests. Considering her offensive power is potent, what really makes her a valuable commodity is her blocking. She already has 91 blocks on the year, a 1.08 per set average. She has 14 block solos and 77 block assists on the year.

EKWEREKWU AN OFFENSIVE LEADER
Francie Ekwerekwu currently is second on the team with 2.68 kills per set. She averages 0.95 blocks per set (12 block solos, 65 block assists). Ekwerekwu has played in 81 sets this year and leads Oklahoma with 3.36 points per set.

HIGGINS LEADS IN ACES
Caitlin Higgins leads Oklahoma with 16 service aces on the year. Brianne Barker and María Fernanda each have 15 while Francie Ekwerekwu has 11. Danielle Alva is the fifth Sooner to produce aces in the double digits with 10.

ON TRACK FOR A CAREER MARK
Sophomore setter Brianne Barker has 1,844 career assists already. OU has separate records for each scoring era but Barker's current mark would rank in the top five of both the sideout scoring and 30-point rally scoring records.

NOT GIVING UP POINTS IN THE NET
Oklahoma has been called for 25 blocking errors this season, while its opponents have been whistled for being in the net a total of 46 times.

SOONERS OUT-HITTING OPPONENTS
Oklahoma fares quite well in out-hitting opponents. The Sooners have hit .211 as team. They have held opponents to a .156 clip. Defensively, OU is out-digging opponents 17.8/set to 16.9/set and 2.3 blocks per to 2.1 blocks per set.

OKLAHOMA AGAINST THE BIG 12
Oklahoma owns a winning series against four Big 12 opponents (Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State and Missouri) but has just an 92-182 mark in conference play.