Volleyball Opens Conference Play

Week Four \| Oklahoma Invitational
Tuesday, September 19, 2012	Oklahoma vs. No. 11 Kansas State at 7 p.m. CT
Location	Norman, Okla. \| McCasland Field House
Online	Live Stats \| Twitter (@SoonersVB)
Additional Info	2012 OU Cumulative Stats (as of 9/15) \| Airs Live on FS Oklahoma
Promos and Tickets	Schedule Posters, Autographs & More \| Tickets
Saturday, September 22, 2012	Oklahoma vs. No. 9 Texas at 5 p.m. CT
Location	Austin, Texas \| Gregory Gymnasium
Online	Live Stats \| Audio \| Twitter (@SoonersVB)

TAKE NOTE

Oklahoma Invitational

The Sooners swept the 2012 Oklahoma Invitational for the second-consecutive year with a trio of sweeps over SMU, UALR and New Mexico. Senior Maria Fernanda, and juniors Sallie McLaurin and Keila Rodriguez were named to the All-Tournament Team. In addition, McLaurin was selected Tournament MVP.

MATCH IT

Senior libero Maria Fernanda matched her own three-set OU record when she recorded 25 digs in Oklahoma's sweep over SMU at the 2012 Oklahoma Invitational. She last accomplished the feat a year ago when the Sooners played Oklahoma on September 10, 2011.

McLAURIN SECOND

Junior middle blocker Sallie McLaurin leads the Big 12, and is second in the nation, averaging 1.68 blocks per set. On the year, she has recorded 12 solo blocks and 72 block assists, for a team-leading 84 total blocks.

WHERE THEY RANK

The Sooners are 14-116 all-time against ranked opponents, including a 13-58 record under head coach Santiago Restrepo.

Oklahoma faced its first three ranked opponents of the 2012 season in a span of six days - first with No. 24 Colorado State, followed by No. 1 Nebraska and No. 19 Kentucky.

The Sooners pulled away with a 1-2 record, falling to Colorado State and Nebraska, but claiming its first win over No. 19 Kentucky in four sets (25-20, 25-20, 17-25, 25-22) at the Ameritas Players Challenge

NORMAN, Okla. - The University of Oklahoma volleyball team (11-3) opens conference play when it plays host to No. 11 Kansas State (12-0) Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. in the McCasland Field House.

Following its match against the Wildcats, the Sooners will head south to Austin, Texas to face the No. 9 Longhorns Saturday at 5 p.m. The back-to back match-ups against ranked opponents mark the fourth and fifth of the season for the Sooners, respectively.

After facing then- No. 1 Nebraska, No. 19 Kentucky and No. 24 Colorado State, the Sooners are 1-2 against ranked opponents on the year, with a four-set victory over Kentucky.

Oklahoma is 7-9 in Big 12 openers, and 8-8 in conference home-openers. The Sooners have won six-straight conference openers, including five at McCasland Field House. Head coach Santiago Restrepo has led OU through each of those conference-opening win streaks since 2006 when the Sooners swept past Texas A&M.

The Sooners are fresh off the Oklahoma Invitational, which saw them claim their fifth-straight victory and fourth-straight sweep as they took wins over SMU, University of Arkansas-Little Rock and New Mexico, each in three sets. In the tournament finale against the Lobos, Oklahoma dished New Mexico just its second loss of the season, and snapped a nine-game win streak.

Following their performances, three upperclassmen were selected to the All-Tournament team in senior libero Maria Fernanda, and a pair of juniors in outside hitter Keila Rodriguez and middle blocker Sallie McLaurin. McLaurin was also named the Tournament MVP for the second-straight year after she totaled 27 kills with just three errors and led the Sooners in each match with 16 total blocks, including five a piece in the first two matches, and six in the finale against New Mexico.

In addition to her consistent presence on the court, McLaurin is averaging 1.68 blocks per set - second in the NCAA.

Kansas State has begun the season with a spark, en route to its best season in program history as the Wildcats enter their 13th match-up of the season with a 12-0, undefeated slate. The Wildcats are coming off a 3-0 sweep at the Hurricane Invitational, which saw them face common OU opponent, Tulsa, and their first two ranked opponents of the season - No. 10 Minnesota, and No. 20 Dayton. Kansas State took down Minnesota in five with a 3-2 finish (13-25, 25-22, 16-25, 25-19, 15-7), and swept Dayton in three (25-23, 25-20, 25-15) to claim the tournament title.

Oklahoma leads the series 49-25-1 over Kansas State, including a 23-11 advantage in Norman. The Wildcats walked away with the last win in a 3-2, five-set thriller (18-25, 25-23, 16-25, 25-21, 15-12) on November 11 in Manhattan, Kan.

Wednesday's match against No. 11 Kansas State will air live at 7 p.m. on FS Oklahoma in conjunction with Sooner Sports TV powered by FOX Sports. For a channel listing and complete TV programming schedule, please click here.

Texas has a mid-week bye before it opens conference play against Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon. The Longhorns are coming off of a2-1 finish at the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational where they earned wins over Cincinnati and UCF, and dropped one loss to then-No. 23 Illinois. Currently, Texas leads the Big 12 in two separate categories - averaging 3.16 blocks per set, and totaling a .283 hitting percentage.

Last year, Oklahoma split the series with Texas 1-1 after a heart pounding five-set (25-16, 25-20, 17-25, 24-26, 15-9) performance in McCasland Field House, which saw them take the program's third win in the series against the Longhorns. To date, Texas holds a 38-3 edge over OU, dating back to 1975. Two of the Sooners' three wings against the Longhorns have been notched in Norman.

The match against Texas will be featured live on Longhorn Network. Gametracker live stats, along with an audio webcast will be available on TexasSports.com.

For all the latest information on Oklahoma volleyball, please log on to www.SoonerSports.com or, for up-to-the-minute updates, follow Oklahoma volleyball on Twitter at @SoonersVB (https://twitter.com/SoonersVB).