Three Sooners Earn First Team Honors

Julia Doyle // Jr. // S
Big 12 Setter of the Year All-Big 12 First Team A gold medalist with Team USA CNT over the summer, Doyle has sparked an OU attack with a career-best 10.66 assists per set. She leads the Sooners with a team-high 11 double-doubles on the season.

Kierra Holst // Jr. // OH
All-Big 12 First Team Holst leads the Sooners with 3.77 kills per set and is averaging 4.71 over the last 10 matches. She surpassed 1,000 career kills with 18 against Kansas on Saturday and is second all-time with 441 kills in a season during the 25-point, rally-scoring era.

Madison Ward // RSo. // OH
All-Big 12 First Team Ward's career has seen a steady rise from medical redshirt in 2012 to All-Big 12 Freshman Team in 2013 and now All-Big 12 First Team. She has totaled eight double-doubles, while averaging 3.12 kils and 2.46 digs per set.

Marion Hazelwood // Fr. // MB
All-Big 12 Freshman Team Hazelwood stepped in to replace a three-time All-American and has been a steady presence for the Sooners, leading the team with 0.91 blocks per set and a .314 hitting percentage. She posted a season-high 17 kills in the regular season finale.

IRVING, Texas – University of Oklahoma junior Julia Doyle (Plymouth, Minn.) was voted the Big 12 Volleyball Setter of the Year by the league's coaches and earned a spot on the All-Big 12 First Team. She is the first major award winner from OU since Sallie McLaurin was named Defensive Player of the Year in 2011 along with Newcomer of the Year Carlee Roethlisberger.

Joining Doyle on the All-Big 12 First Team are unanimous selections Kierra Holst (Coppell, Texas) and Madison Ward (Lawton, Okla.). Holst, a junior outside hitter, was also named to the All-Big 12 Preseason Team back in August along with Doyle. Ward, a redshirt-sophomore outside hitter, makes a first team appearance after being named to the All-Big 12 Freshman Team in 2013.

“Compared from her freshman year to know, I think Julia has improved tremendously; in all aspects of the game,” proclaimed head coach Santiago Restrepo. “Physically, she is more fit and is more disciplined on the block and has played good defense this year. I think the passing has been a major contributor as to how she and Kierra have been successful. Kierra is a big part of why we are in the tournament and we continue moving forward.”

This season marks the first time that Oklahoma has had three players earn first team honors and the first time since 2011 that multiple players made the first team.

“It's exciting,” stated Restrepo when notified that three players on the first team was a first for OU. “What I'm more excited about is going with these three players to the postseason and having all three players back next year.”

A three-year starter at setter, Doyle has built an impressive resume during her time in Norman. She entered the 2014 season coming off a gold medal with the Team USA Collegiate National Team and has followed that up by averaging a career-best 10.66 assists per set; ranking third in the conference. Doyle is also fourth in the league in double-doubles, while averaging 2.18 digs per set. She has posted 1,247 total assists to push her career total to 3,452, which ranks sixth all-time at Oklahoma. Doyle registered a career-high 60 assists in a five-set match against Iowa State on November 12 of this year.

During the regular season Holst and Ward were each named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, doing so on back-to-back weeks each time. They became the first duo at Oklahoma to earn multiple weekly awards in the same season.

Holst has been a force on the attack all season, particularly in the last 10 matches. Over that stretch, she has averaged 4.71 kills per set and posted 18 or more in eight of those matches. Her lows during that time are 14 and 15 in three-set wins. For the season, Holst leads the Sooners with 3.77 kills per set, while hitting .251. She leads the Big 12 with 0.46 service aces per.

Holst assaulted the OU and Big 12 record book this season. She became the most recent member of the Oklahoma 1,000-kill club and currently sits in second, four back of first, for kills in a single season during the 25-point, rally-scoring era at 441. Against Cal State Northridge on September 10, she set a Big 12 and OU record for service aces in a match with eight.

Ward, who missed the last four matches of the regular season due to a concussion, finished second in the regular season with 3.12 kills and 2.46 digs per set on the OU roster. She is also second on the team with eight double-doubles. Ward tallied a career-high 21 kills in a three-set sweep of West Virginia on November 1.

Rounding out the conference honors for Oklahoma is freshman middle blocker Marion Hazelwood (Beach City, Texas) on the All-Big 12 Freshman Team. Hazelwood, who was named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week a week ago, averaged 2.23 kills and a team-high 0.91 blocks per set in the regular season. She also hit a team-best .314.

The Sooners are heading to Eugene, Ore. to take on LSU in the NCAA First Round on Thursday, December 4 at 6:30 pm CT. The winner advances to the Second Round to face the winner of No. 10 Oregon and Santa Clara. Oklahoma is participating in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight season, eighth time in the last nine seasons and 11^th time in program history.

Players Mentioned

Julia Doyle

Julia Doyle

Marion Hazelwood

Kierra Holst

Kierra Holst

Sallie McLaurin

Madison Ward

Madison Ward

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