Sooners Battle No. 3 Trojans in Four

³USC

Oklahoma

Box Score

Highlights

Photo Gallery

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	4
³USC (10-0)	25	23	25	25
Oklahoma (5-4)	14	25	20	20

Stat Comparison
Category	USC	OU
Kills	68	55
Pct.	.460	.282
Digs	49	39
Blocks	12.0	4.0

Inidivual Leaders
Category	USC	OU
Kills	Bricio - 19	Three Players - 11
Assists	Johnson - 28	Doyle - 24
Digs	Whittingham - 19	Gardiner - 18
Blocks	Ogoms - 8	Spann - 3

Player of the Match
Kimmy Gardiner // Jr. // OH Gardiner posted her team-leading third double-double of the season on 11 kills and a career-high 18 digs, while hitting .391.

NORMAN, Okla. – The University of Oklahoma volleyball team battled No. 3 USC in a 3-1 loss at McCasland Field House on Thursday night. The Sooners had a four-match win streak snapped to move even their record at 5-5, while the Trojans maintained a spotless, 11-0 record.

USC won the first, convincingly, 25-14 before dropping its first set since the season opener against No. 7 North Carolina on August 28. It was OU taking the second by a 25-23 score. Redshirt-junior outside hitter Madison Ward (Lawton, Okla.), who came off the bench late in the first, led the way with seven kills and two block assists in the set.

The Sooners raced out to a 5-0 lead in the second and remained in front until late in the set when the Trojans went on top, 22-21. Oklahoma went on to win four of the final five points, including two kills from Ward to claim the set. Leading 18-13, OU withstood a 4-0 run by USC on the serve of Samantha Bricio, the nation's leader in service aces and points per set.

The Trojans came out of the break strong and claimed the final two sets by identical scores of 25-20.

“Offensively, we did some very good things,” recalled head coach Santiago Restrepo. “When we are passing well, we can compete against anybody in the country. Sometimes it's about your passing and serving game. At moments, [USC] served the ball pretty tough. They are number three for a reason. They are extremely talented and well coached, but so are we. We are extremely talented. The minute we start believing in ourselves that we can compete at this level, the better we are going to be.”

Junior outside hitter Kimmy Gardiner (Grapevine, Texas) led the Sooners with her team-leading third double-double of the season. She posted 11 kills, a career-high 18 digs and hit .391. Ward and junior middle blocker Micaela Spann (Carrollton, Texas) also reached double figures with 11 kills. Spann, who hit .000 through two sets, finished the night hitting .409 to go with three blocks.

“Kimmy is key to the success of our team, but is perhaps a player that goes unnoticed,” said Restrepo. “A double-double with also the responsibility of our passing – she serves extremely well and also defends well. That's a player that is very key for us and is extremely consistent. We need her to continue doing those things.”

Bricio led all players with 19 kills and hit .366 with four blocks and three service aces. In all, four players recorded double-digit kill totals for USC. Alyse Ford finished second with on a .500 attack rate, while Brittany Abercrombie and Alicia Ogoms notched 11 apiece.

Senior setter Julia Doyle (Plymouth, Minn.) dished out 24 assists and freshman Audrey Alford (Norman, Okla.) added 21. Senior libero Taylor Migliazzo (Kansas City, Mo.) was second on the team with 10 digs. Her career total now stands at 990 as she is 10 away from becoming the 15^th OU player to record 1,000 in a career.

The Sooners are in action twice tomorrow to close out the OU Invitational. The action gets underway at 11:00 am against Maryland followed by the nightcap at 8:00 pm against No. 7 Washington.

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Players Mentioned

Audrey Alford

Julia Doyle

Kimmy Gardiner

Kimmy Gardiner

Taylor Migliazzo

Micaela Spann

Madison Ward

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics