Oct. 3, 2006
Volleyball Preview: Baylor at #25 Oklahoma
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BAYLOR (13-4, 2-3 Big 12) at No. 25 Oklahoma (12-3, 4-1)
Wednesday, Oct. 4 - 7 p.m.
McCasland Fieldhouse - Norman Okla.
Live Audio Broadcast: BaylorBears.com (6:45 p.m.)
Baylor volleyball hits the road for back-to-back matches, first traveling to face No. 25 Oklahoma Wednesday at 7 p.m. at McCasland Fieldhouse in Norman, Okla., before taking on No. 11 Texas Friday at 6:30 p.m. in Austin. The live audio broadcast of all road matches is available on BaylorBears.com 15 minutes prior to first serve.
The Bears, which have lost three of four after a school-record 10-match winning streak, are led by senior outside hitter Nicole LeBlanc (Tampa, Fla.), who ranks 10th in the Big 12 with 3.82 kills and also averages 3.27 digs per game. LeBlanc needs only one kill to take over sole possession of sixth on Baylor's all-time kills list. Senior middle blocker Desiree Guilliard-Young (Berkeley, Calif.) ranks sixth in the league, hitting .380, while averaging 2.94 kills and ranking second in the conference with 1.60 blocks per game. Freshman setter Taylor Barnes (Arlington, Texas) paces the offense, averaging 1.23 kills, 11.11 assists, 2.33 digs, ranking third in the league with 0.60 service aces and adding 0.65 blocks per game. Junior libero Kristen Schramek (San Antonio, Texas) leads the Bears defensively, ranking fifth in the Big 12 with 4.36 digs per game.
In their last match against top-ranked Nebraska, the Bears won game one before falling to the Huskers in four games. Freshman outside hitter Katie Sanders (Katy, Texas) led Baylor with a season-high 15 kills, while LeBlanc recorded her 11th double-double of the season with 11 kills and 17 digs. During the match, Schramek became the 10th player in Baylor history to record 1,000 career digs, while Guilliard-Young became the fourth player in school history to record 500 career blocks.
Oklahoma, which has won 10 of its last 11 matches including its last three, is led offensively by Joanna Schmitt, who ranks third in the Big 12 with 4.44 kills per game and Laura Tomes, who ranks second in the league with a .436 hitting percentage. Defensively, Eliane Santos ranks fourth in the conference with 1.51 blocks per game, while Anna Monsen ranks fourth with 4.56 digs per game.
In their last match, the Sooners pulled out their second straight five-game victory, taking care of Colorado on the road. Schmitt led the team with 19 kills and 14 digs, while Tomes had 18 kills and eight blocks.
After the pair of road matches, a stretch in which the Bears will have faced four straight ranked opponents, Baylor returns home for four of its next five matches, beginning Wednesday, Oct. 11, against Texas A&M at 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center.
