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University of Oklahoma Athletics
Saturday, August 27
Norman
12:00 PM
University of Oklahoma
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UTEP
Volleyball Downs UTEP, UMKC in Straight Sets
August 27, 2016 | Volleyball
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UMKC
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NORMAN, Okla. – The University of Oklahoma volleyball team picked up its second and third sweeps of the weekend in its season-opening Oklahoma Invitational at McCasland Field House on Saturday afternoon. The Sooners' first 3-0 win came by scores of 25-13, 25-16 and 25-17 over UTEP. OU (3-0) then defeated UMKC (2-1) in straight sets; 25-17, 25-13, 26-24.
Much like Friday night's opener, it was a balanced offensive attack as sophomore setter Audrey Alford (Norman, Okla.) dished out 40 assists and evenly distributed the ball to five hitters that tallied nine kills or more, while adding nine digs on the defensive side of the ball. As a team, Oklahoma outhit the Miners, .430 to .119, for the match.
The Sooners took control of the match early with a 5-1 run to open it up. A run of 5-2 then extended their lead to 12-6 and forced a UTEP timeout. OU wound up hitting a match-high .484 in the set as senior middle blocker Micaela Spann (Carrollton, Texas) and junior middle blocker Marion Hazelwood (Beach City, Texas) notched four kills each. Spann and Hazelwood finished with nine kills apiece and did not commit an error. Spann hit .643, while Hazelwood hit .529 with a match-leading six blocks.
The second set was won on a kill by redshirt-senior outside hitter Madison Ward (Lawton, Okla.), who had done the same in the first set. Ward finished the match hitting .409 with nine kills, five digs and three blocks. Senior outside hitter Kimmy Gardiner (Grapevine, Texas) led all players with 10 kills and added 11 digs for her first double-double of the season. Sophomore outside hitter Alyssa Enneking (League City, Texas) added nine kills and four digs.
Sophomore libero Rachel Manriquez (Edmond, Okla.) finished second on OU with 10 digs.
For the Miners, Briana Arellano recorded a team-high nine kills. Lindsey Larson posted 13 assists and 11 digs, while Amanda King collected 12 assists and five digs.
In the nightcap, Gardiner tallied nine kills and hit .500 on her way to being named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. Hazelwood led all players with 12 kills on a .375 attack rate and was named to the All-Tournament team with Spann, who added 10 kills on a .533 attack rate.
Several early runs swung the momentum in the Sooners' direction in the first two sets. Trailing 13-11, OU went on a 6-0 run with junior defensive specialist Emma Kelly (Houston, Texas) serving and got a pair of crucial kills from Spann.
The Sooners then started out hot in the second set and never looked back. A quick 7-0 run with Alford serving and four consecutive kills by Hazelwood put OU in command.
Oklahoma outhit UMKC, .396 to .253 for the match with an impressive .571 hitting percentage in the second.
The third set went back-and-forth as the Kangaroos erased a seven-point deficit to take a 22-19 lead late in the set. The Sooners then came back and won the match on Spann's 10th kill of the night.
Alford dished out 31 assists in the match and Manriquez picked up a team-high 10 digs.
Oklahoma returns to action next Thursday at Little Rock for the first of four matches at the UALR Tournament.
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