Sooners Pledge for a Cure against No. 10 Nebraska

Sept. 28, 2009

#10 Nebraska (9-4, 2-2 Big 12) at Oklahoma (10-3, 3-1 Big 12)
Match 14	Wednesday, September 30, 2009 \| 6 p.m. CT
Location	Norman, Okla. \| McCasland Field House
Tickets	$8 adults \| $5 (seniors/youth)
Media	ESPNU (Beth Mowins, Cathy Nelson) \| Live Stats
Promotions	Pledge for a Cure
Game Info	2009 Media Guide \| Match Notes

OKLAHOMA WELCOMES 10TH-RANKED NEBRASKA
The Oklahoma Sooners return home on Wednesday, Sept. 30 for a 6 p.m. CT against the 10th-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers. Beth Mowins and Cathy Nelson call the action for ESPNU. Live stats are available at SoonerSports.com. Oklahoma seeks its first win against the Huskers in 12 years. The Sooners last defeated Nebraska on Oct. 10, 1997 in Norman.

REMEMBERING JAVI: SOONER VOLLEYBALL TO HONOR RESTREPO'S SON
When the Oklahoma volleyball team takes the court Wednesday night, they will continue their year-long mission to honor the son of their head coach, Santiago Restrepo. On Wednesday, they will share Javi's story with a national audience. Throughout the evening, fans attending the match and those at home have a chance to make a difference though monetary donations to the Jimmy Everest Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at The Children's Hospital at the OU Medical Center. Sooner fans can pledge any amount of their choice for every kill, dig, ace and/or block OU records on the evening. Pledge forms are available at the door or online for fans that cannot attend. Head football coach Bob Stoops and women's basketball coach Sherri Coale will sign autographs at the match from 6:00-6:30 p.m. A minimum charitable donation of $10 is required and fans are allowed to bring one item per coach to be signed.

TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE FOR WEDNESDAY
Tickets are still available for Wednesday night's contest against Nebraska. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets online. Any remaining tickets will be available at two ticket tent locations located outside McCasland Field House. Player, guest and media pass lists will gain entrance to the facility via the east side of the Field House, adjacent to the McCasland parking lot.

SOONERS REWIND: OU MAKES QUICK WORK OF BUFFS
The University of Oklahoma volleyball team dominated through the entire match to sweep the Colorado Buffaloes, 3-0 [25-17, 25-16, 25-14], Saturday evening at the Coors Events Center. The Sooners only trailed twice during the entire match. Junior Francie Ekwerekwu recorded 11 kills and four block assists and matched her career high with a .526 hitting percentage.

OKLAHOMA'S DEFENSE ONE OF NATION'S BEST
Oklahoma leads the Big 12 in digs per set with 17.84, a mark that is seventh in the nation. National leader NJIT averages 21.17 per set. Freshman María Fernanda ranks second in the league in digs per set and 38th in the nation with 4.80 per set. Senior Bridget Laplante (194th, 3.74) also ranks in the top 250 nationally in digs per set.

FREUDENRICH RANKED IN TOP 100 NATIONALLY
Junior Sarah Freudenrich ranks in the top 100 nationally in blocks per set (76th, 1.15/set) and hitting percentage (142nd, .324). The top 250 student-athletes nationally were ranked in each category.

RESTREPO NINE WINS SHY OF #100
Oklahoma head coach Santiago Restrepo is nine wins shy of his 100th victory at the school. In six seasons overseeing the Sooner program, Restrepo owns a mark of 91-74.

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

SATURDAY'S CONTEST MOVED TO 3 P.M. CT
Saturday's contest against Texas Tech has been moved to 3 p.m. CT.

SIDING ON THE RIGHT
Oklahoma has produced a sideout percentage of 100 percent during two sets this season. The rare feat was accomplished against North Carolina and UT-Arlington. It has only been done six times under head coach Santiago Restrepo.

FERNANDA NAMED BIG 12 DEFENSIVE POW
University of Oklahoma freshman libero María Fernanda was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week on Sept 20. Fernanda is the first Sooner to be named Defensive Player of the Week since Mariana Blum earned the honor on Sept. 10, 2007. Fernanda joins teammates Sarah Freudenrich (Rookie of the Week; Oct. 22, 2008) and Caitlin Higgins (Offensive Player of the Week; Nov. 3, 2008) as current Sooners with weekly award honors.

EKWEREKWU LEADING OU'S OFFENSE
Junior Francie Ekwerekwu currently leads OU offensively with 2.84 kills per set and is second on the team with 11 service aces. She averages 1.00 blocks per set. Ekwerekwu has played in 44 sets this year and leads Oklahoma with 3.67 points per set. Colorado was her eighth 10+ kill performance and fifth straight this season.

EARNING AN A IN SERVING
Sophomore Brianne Barker leads the Sooners with 12 service aces on the year. Junior Francie Ekwerekwu is second on the team with 11. Ekwerekwu is consistently in the service rotation for the first time in her career. She previously only had one service attempt in 2008 at Southern California.

EKWEREKWU ON THE CLIMB
Having already matched her season high of 14 kills once already, junior Francie Ekwerekwu bested the mark at Kansas with 15 kills. She matched her career high of a .562 hitting percentage at Colorado. Ekwerekwu had 11 kills in 16 attempts.

HIGGINS LEADS OU AT KANSAS
Sophomore Caitlin Higgins recorded a season-high 17 kills to lead OU at Kansas. Higgins also added 10 digs for her third double-double this season.

LAPLANTE SETS NEW DIGS MARK
With 27 digs at Kansas, senior Bridget Laplante surpassed her previous career best of 26 set at Kansas State on Oct. 18, 2007.

BOULAVSKY GETTING IT DONE
Sophomore Suzy Boulavsky was OU's X-factor in the win at Kansas State. Boulavsky added 12 kills, marking the fourth match this season she has had 10 or more. Boulavsky also tallied a career high with seven block assists.

HOME SWEET HOME
Oklahoma played in the friendly confines of the McCasland Field House for the first time this season on Sept. 19. The last time OU played a home opener later was when the Sooners opened their 2003 home slate on Sept. 24 against Texas. The last time OU played their first two home matches later than Sept. 30 was also in 2003. The Sooners played their second home match against Nebraska on Oct. 4.

ALVA COMES UP BIG ON DEFENSE
Sophomore Danielle Alva saw time in all four sets at Kansas State. Alva's 14 digs were a career high, she added a service ace and assist in the win.

HIGGINS GETS BACK IN HER GROOVE
Sophomore Caitlin Higgins had an excellent match against UT-Arlington. Higgins recorded her second double-double of the season with 13 kills and a career-high 23 digs.

ONE-WOMAN WRECKING CREW
Junior Sarah Freudenrich is causing havoc in most matches she has played in this season. Freudenrich is averaging 2.38 kills per set and hitting a team-best .324. In 12 matches played this season, she has 10 or more kills in six of those contests. Considering her offensive power is potent, what really makes her a valuable commodity is her blocking. She already has 54 blocks on the year, a 1.15 per set average. With five block solos and 49 block assists, Freudenrich is a responsible for 141.5 of the Sooners' 834 points so far this season.

GRAND HOMECOMING
Junior Francie Ekwerekwu had a stellar performance at the UT-Arlington Invitational, earning Most Valuable Player honors. In her return to her hometown, Ekwerekwu led OU with 3.12 kills per set and a .327 hitting percentage. She also recorded nine blocks (1.12/set), including one block solo. Her three service aces and seven digs also contributed to OU winning the tournament with a 2-0 mark.

SOONERS OUT-HITTING OPPONENTS
Oklahoma fares quite well in out-hitting opponents. The Sooners have hit .216 as team in the first 13 matches of the season. They have held opponents to a .130 clip.

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 86-178 mark in conference play.

SHOCKER CLASSIC ALL-TOURNEY
Freshman María Fernanda was named to the all-tournament for the Best Western Shocker Classic. It marks the second straight weekend the rookie was named among the best at an event. She was previously named to the all-tournament team at the Mizuno Invitational in Houston.

BOULAVSKY NETS CAREER HIGH
Sophomore Suzy Boulavsky netted a career-high 15 kills against Central Arkansas.

SOONERS HIT WELL AGAINST RICE
As a team, Oklahoma hit .347 against Rice on Aug. 28. The last time the Sooners produced a match with a better percentage was against Seton Hall on Aug. 25, 2007.

TRIO NAMED ALL-TOURNAMENT
Sophomore setter Brianne Barker was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2009 Mizuno Invitational hosted by Rice. Freshman LB María Fernanda was named to the team as was senior OH Bridget Laplante. Barker averaged 9.85 assists per set and 3.31 digs. Fernanda led OU with 4.23 digs per set and Laplante led the team in kills with 34.

A TALE OF TWO SEASONS
When Oklahoma began the 2008 season, the Sooners returned just two starters. What a difference a year makes. To start the 2009 season, Oklahoma returns all six position starters. Of those six, one is a senior (OH Bridget Laplante). The team's only other senior is OH Jackie Fotu.