Oklahoma Sooners Defeat Texas Tech 3-0

Oklahoma Sooners Press Release: 

The University of Oklahoma volleyball team rattled off its third consecutive league win with a 3-0 sweep against Texas Tech at the United Supermarkets Arena on Wednesday evening. The Sooners improved to 12-7 overall and evened out at 3-3 in the Big 12, while the Red Raiders dropped to 10-11 and 0-6.

Oklahoma played behind often in the first two sets, but came away with narrow wins of 28-26 and 25-23. The Sooners then owned the third and final set with a 25-17 showing.

Head coach Santiago Restrepo called timeouts on back-to-back point late in the second when trailing, 22-19. A 4-1 OU run, capped by sophomore outside hitterAlyssa Enneking’s (League City, Texas) put the Sooners in front. Redshirt-senior outside hitter Madison Ward (Lawton, Okla.) then won the set for Oklahoma with a kill on its fourth set-point opportunity.

Enneking hit .615 in the set and went on to hit .390 on the night. She totaled a match-leading 19 kills; besting her career-high for the second match in a row.

Texas Tech began set two on a 5-1; forcing an early OU timeout. Junior middle blocker Marion Hazelwood (Beach City, Texas) momentarily swung the momentum toward the Sooners with back-to-back blocks out of the break. Later in the stanza, it was three straight hitting errors by Tech that gave Oklahoma the lead at 20-19. Senior middle blocker Micaela Spann (Carrollton, Texas), playing for the first time in two weeks, then put OU in front two sets to none with her eighth kill of the night.

Spann was error free through the first two sets and finished with nine kills, one error and hit .500. Hazelwood added nine kills and six blocks.

After trading points early in the third, the Sooners used a 5-1 run to increase its lead to 12-7; its largest of the night and force a Red Raider timeout. The lead grew with a pair of Enneking and Hazelwood combo blocks after the timeout. Tech fought back with a 6-1 run, but OU answered with three in a row; capped by a service ace from junior defensive specialist Emma Kelly (Houston, Texas) to lead 18-13. Oklahoma left with the win as the final point of the sweep came with Hazelwood and sophomore outside hitterMadison Drescher (Southlake, Texas) teaming up on the block.

Sophomore setter Audrey Alford (Norman, Okla.) dished out 37 assists and added six digs. Redshirt-sophomore libero Rachel Manriquez (Edmond, Okla.) picked up a team-leading 13 digs.

For the Red Raiders, Lauren Douglass led the offense with 12 kills on a .345 attack rate. Marguerite Grubb collected 36 assists and nine digs, while Maggie Sagers led all players with 19 digs.

The Sooners return home to face Kansas State on Saturday, October 15 at 6 p.m. Admission is free.

Couretsy of Sooners Athletics

Texas Tech Press Release

The Texas Tech volleyball team dropped a pair of heartbreaking sets to start the match and Oklahoma pulled away in the third frame to edge Texas Tech, 3-0 (28-26, 25-23, 25-17), Wednesday at United Supermarkets Arena.

The Red Raiders narrowly dropped the first two sets as they held a 23-20 lead in the first and were even at 21-21 in the second, but were unable to close with wins. Freshman Maggie Sagers, who filled in for the injured Reyn Akiu for her first career start at libero, led a Texas Tech defense that out-dug the Sooners, 50-48.

“I liked the fight,” head coach Tony Graystone said. “I liked the game plan we had, I liked the matchups we had and it was good to see the team respond. We have to learn how to finish. That’s the next step. I thought Maggie Sagers was terrific tonight. It was really great to see a true freshman come in and own that moment. We just have to keep putting ourselves in that fight and give ourselves the opportunity to take that next step.”

Sophomore Alyssa Enneking led the Sooners with a career-high 19 kills on 41 attacks, while junior Marion Hazelwood and senior Micaela Spann added nine each. While Oklahoma managed just a 49-44 advantage in kills, they out-blocked the Red Raiders 7-2 as Hazelwood and sophomore Madison Drescher combined for 10 block assists.

Senior Lauren Douglass paced the Red Raider attack with 12 kills on a .345 hitting percentage while freshman Toni McDougald and sophomore Sarah Redding added nine kills each. SeniorMarguerite Grubb nearly recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 36 assists and nine digs, and Sagers posted a career-high 19 digs.

Texas Tech led 23-20 in the first set after Grubb set up Douglass for one of her six first-set kills. A pair of kills by Enneking and a kill by Drescher, however, pulled the Sooners even. Oklahoma went on take match point at 24-23 before Douglass again put one away, but the Sooners ultimately prevailed as Spann gave them a 27-26 advantage before redshirt-senior Madison Ward’s kill won the set.

The Red Raiders jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the second set before the Sooners could close the gap and even the score at 7-7. Texas Tech held a 19-17 lead in the set, which featured 13 ties, before committing two attack errors that let the Sooners back in it. With the set tied at 21-21, Oklahoma’s veterans stepped up and found a way to close the set, 25-23.

Texas Tech trailed just 13-15 in the third set before Oklahoma’s defense at the net took over. The Sooners recorded five blocks in the set and allowed the Red Raiders to hit just -.028 for the frame as a 10-4 pushed the Sooners to the victory.

The loss marks the ninth-straight for the Red Raiders (10-11, 0-6) and drops them below .500 for the first time since beginning its 10-match win streak in early September.

UP NEXT
Texas Tech heads to Ames, Iowa Saturday for a matchup with Iowa State (9-8, 1-4). First serve is set for 1 p.m. The Red Raiders will look to break a 19-match losing streak to the Cyclones, which dates back to 2006.

Courtesy of Texas Tech Athletics