Volleyball Wraps Up Spring Slate

May 6, 2009

NORMAN, Okla. – The University of Oklahoma women's volleyball team recently wrapped up its 2009 spring season. The Sooners participated in the Texas Tornadoes and TCU Tournaments and took on Wichita State in a single series.

“I thought we made many improvements in the spring,” said OU head coach Santiago Restrepo. “We sped up our offense and that will help in the long run. Brianne (Barker) and our hitters were able to get acquainted and that makes it easier to run the offense.

“Danielle (Alva), Caitlin (Higgins) and Bridget (Laplante) did the majority of passing, and we saw improvement there. Our middle blockers were able to work on different shots and our blocking a lot better. As a team, we did an extremely good job of improving on overall skill-set, communication and chemistry.”

At the Texas Tornadoes Tournament, OU picked up wins against Arizona (25-18, 25-22), SMU (24-26, 25-22, 15-12) and Stephen F. Austin (25-18, 26-24). The Sooners fell to Rice (20-25, 26-28, 23-25) and Tulane (25-17, 23-25, 12-15). Against Rice, Francie Ekwerekwu posted a .600 attacking percentage and Suzy Boulavsky had 13 kills in a .520 performance. Danielle Alva also had 16 digs for OU.

Against Tulane, Chrissy Dissaro led the way with a .750 attacking percentage and Ekwerekwu totaled a .538, while Boulavsky hit .421. Against Arizona, Boulavsky hit .714 and Ekwerekwu a .833 as the Sooners hit .250 as a team. In the game against SMU, Caitlin Higgins had 12 kills to hit .400 and Sarah Freudenrich hit .272, while Disarro hit .286. In the final game of the tournament against Stephen F. Austin, Higgins totaled 10 kills to hit .318. Ekwerekwu had seven kills in an .875 performance.

Against Wichita State, the Sooners won 25-18 25-14, 23-25 and fell 25-18, 23-25, 25-22, 23-25 and 12-15. In the opening match, Higgins had 12 kills and Alva and Laplante each had 12 digs. Boulavsky led the Sooners with a .538 attacking percentage. In the second mach, Laplante had a spring-high 21 digs, while Brianne Barker had 24 digs. As a team, OU had 96 defensive stops total. Offensively, Disarro led the way with a .400 attack percentage.

At the TCU Tournament, OU fell to the host 23-25, 25-14 and 14-16 and Baylor (25-17, 23-25, 13-15). The Sooners defeated SMU (25-15, 25-20), North Texas (25-17, 25-18) and TCU (25-19, 25-21).

In the first game against the Horned Frogs, OU got 11 kills from Higgins and 10 from Boulavsky. Against SMU, Boulavsky led the way with a .631 attack percentage and 12 kills. Higgins added seven kills. As a team, the Sooners recorded seven blocks. Ekwerekwu and Disarro each hit .500 against Baylor and Alva added 12 digs. Defensively, OU added 8.5 blocks.

Against North Texas, Freudenrich and Laplante each hit .333 with Laplante recording seven kills. The Sooners hit .220 as a team. In the final game against TCT, Ekwerekwu posted a .444 percentage, while Freudenrich hit .428. Boulavsky and Barker each recorded a .333 percentage. As a team, the Sooners hit .271 and totaled 7.5 blocks.