Sooners Outlast Kansas State, 3-1

Sept. 16, 2009

Oklahoma 3, Kansas State 1 | Box Score: PDF | HTML

	1	2	3	4	5	F
Oklahoma	26	24	25	25	x	3
Kansas State	24	26	21	15	x	1

Stat Leaders
Oklahoma	Statistic	Kansas State
Barker (24)	Digs	Mathewson (22)
Barker (36)	Assists	Pacheco (44)
Ekwerekwu (13)	Kills	Donahue (12)
Ekwerekwu (.400)	Hitting %	Horton (.750)
Boulavsky (7)	Blocks	Chipman (6)

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MANHATTAN, Kan. - In true Big 12 fashion, defense was the star of the match as Oklahoma faced Kansas State Wednesday evening at Ahearn Field House. A match that featured a combined 194 digs, 17 blocks and several long rallies saw the Sooners open the conference season with a 3-1 [26-24, 24-26, 25-21, 25-15] victory over the Wildcats. The Sooners (8-2, 1-0 Big 12) have won four straight conference openers dating back to 2006 and snap a two-match losing skid to KSU (6-5, 0-1 Big 12).

Sophomore Suzy Boulavsky had a career-high seven block assists to lead OU in the front row. Boulavsky also added 12 kills to the Sooners' offensive output. Junior Francie Ekwerekwu led the team with 13 kills, one shy of her season high. Junior Sarah Freudenrich added five block assists to the tally.

Sophomore Brianne Barker tallied her seventh double-double of the season with 36 assists and a career-high 24 digs. Junior Bridget Laplante and sophomore Caitlin Higgins added 14 digs each. Freshman Maria Fernanda matched her season high with 23 digs, while sophomore Danielle Alva set a new career best with 14 defensive helpers.

The first set was a back-and-forth affair with 15 ties and six lead changes. The Sooners scored the match's opening point on a kill from Higgins but the Wildcats scored the next five straight to lead 5-1. After a service error returned the serve to OU, the Sooners rallied to tie the set at 6-6. After trading the lead, the Sooners gained an 8-7 advantage before an OU attack error once again tied the set at 8-8. After once again swapping the lead, the Sooners held a two-point 13-11advantage only to see K-State answer back to tie the period again.

After more rallies, the Sooners once again held a two-point lead at 16-14, but like the first, it soon vanished. The Wildcats eventually emerged with an 18-17 lead and also managed to build a two-point margin. KSU called the set's first timeout with the score notched at 19-all. Out of the break, the Sooners took a 21-20 lead on a block from Barker and Freudenrich and held a 22-21 lead before a kill from Boulavsky gave the Sooners a 23-21 advantage and forced the Wildcats to call a timeout. After the set's second brief break, the Sooners served for set point at 24-22 and after the Wildcats broke the serve, OU called its first timeout of the set. With Kansas State serving out of the timeout, the Wildcats got a defensive stop with a block to tie the set at 24-all. After a KSU service error, Fernanda served for set point and the Wildcats' block attempt out of bounds gave Oklahoma the 26-24 win.

Oklahoma took an early 3-1 lead in to open the second set only to see four Sooner errors give Kansas State a 5-3 advantage. With the Wildcats holding a 7-4 edge, Oklahoma got a kill from Boulavsky but the Wildcats answered right back. KSU led 10-6 before the Sooners called the first timeout of the set. The break did not deter the Wildcats, who scored two straight before a kill from Ekwerekwu made the score 12-7. Oklahoma cut the lead to 13-9 on back-to-back kills from Higgins and Freudenrich and eventually trimmed that down to a 14-11 KSU lead on a kill from Boulavsky. A block from Boulavsky and Freudenrich made it 14-12 but the Sooners were unable to overcome the two point deficit until a timeout with Kansas State leading 21-16.

After that, Oklahoma slowly chipped away and cut the lead to one at 23-22 on a kill from Boulavsky. The renewed energy saw the Sooners fight down the stretch, but unable to regain the lead. Kansas State served for set point at 24-22 only to have Oklahoma prolong the period on back-to-back blocks by the Sooners. After another OU miscue, the Wildcats once again served for the set at 25-24 and gained the point on the serve to win the set, 26-24 and tie the match heading into the intermission.

The Wildcats took a 6-4 lead and kept at least a two-point buffer on the scoreboard until a block from Laplante and Ekwerekwu cut the KSU lead to 13-12. A Sooner attack error put the Wildcats back up at 14-12 and a defensive miscue gave Oklahoma another point to cut the score back to one at 14-13. The two teams swapped the lead at 14-14 and again at 15-all before two KSU errors gave Oklahoma an 18-16 lead and forced the Wildcats to call a timeout.

Kansas State got to within a point at 18-17 but Freudenrich's kill put OU back in front by two. KSU called a second timeout after an unassisted kill from Barker gave OU a 21-18 lead. After the Wildcats gained a point, Boulavsky's kill made it 23-19 Oklahoma and OU earned set point on a kill from Ekwerekwu. With Laplante serving for the match lead, the Wildcats regained the serve but the Sooners came up with set point on a kill from Higgins to win 25-21.

OU scored the fourth set's first two points before KSU got on the board to make it 2-1 and tied it at 2-2 before the Wildcats' fourth service ace gave them a 3-2 lead. Kansas State returned the service to OU on an error for and the Sooners took advantage regaining the lead at 4-3. Boulavsky and Freudenrich came through with the eighth block of the evening to put OU up 5-3. OU held an 8-5 lead only to see the Wildcats answer to cut that to 8-7. The Sooners extended the advantage to 10-7 as KSU called the set's first timeout. Out of the break, Oklahoma stretched the margin to 13-8 before another Wildcat timeout. With Oklahoma leading 15-10, the Wildcats got another point on an OU attack error and cut the lead to three at 15-12 with another kill.

Oklahoma jumped out to another five-point advantage on a service ace from Alva and a Wildcat attack pushed long gave the Sooners a 19-13 lead. The Wildcats sent another attack wide to put OU on top, 20-13. From there, the Sooners never looked back as they took the set 25-15 and the match, 3-1.

The Sooners host Missouri on Saturday for the OU home opener. First serve between the Sooners and MU is set for 11:30 a.m. at McCasland Field House. Admission is free on Fan Appreciation Day and Sooner Nation members receive double points for attending the match.