OU Volleyball Sweeps Texas Tech

The University of Oklahoma volleyball team collected its 12th sweep of the season Wednesday night, defeating Texas Tech 3-0 (-19, -18, -22).

"It was time for us to bounce back from two consecutive losses," said head coach Santiago Restrepo. "We were trying to get the momentum back on our side.

"Tonight built our character and our confidence. Every time that you step up to the plate after a loss, to come back and win is very important," he continued. "But tonight, it's nice to get the win."

Courtesy of the win, Oklahoma improves to 17-8 on the year and 6-4 in Big 12 competition, while Texas Tech drops to 13-13 overall, and 2-8 in conference play.

"The bottom line is that all of last week we talked about staying aggressive throughout our matches, and we accomplished that tonight," explained Restrepo. "Texas Tech continued to put pressure on us – and our team didn't give up.

"As a team, you can't dwell on the last point. You have to fight through until the next point, and I saw that tonight."

After the Sooners grabbed a 2-0 lead to begin the match, the Red Raiders came out of the intermission determined to push the contest to four sets.

Texas Tech put together a 5-0 run in the beginning of the set to take a two-point advantage over OU, but it was the largest lead they would hold throughout the set. Both teams added points in the closing minutes, but the Sooners prevailed with a kill from Julia Doyle to take the final set, 25-22 and secure the match victory.

"Texas Tech was hungry for another win, and you could see that tonight. They're a very talented team, that wouldn't give up" said Restrepo.

Oklahoma now holds a 15 match win streak against Texas Tech, dating back to Oct. 26, 2005. Eight of those 15 wins have been three-set sweeps, including the Sooners two matches against the Red Raiders on the 2012 slate.

Middle blocker Sallie McLaurin led the Sooners offensively with 12 kills on the night. McLaurin successfully struck 12 of her 22 hits with just three errors to hit .409 in the match. Wednesday's output marked the eighth time this season that McLaurin has led the team in kills, and the 11th time on the year that she has produced double-digit kills.

She was joined on the front line by sophomore Tara Dunn who added nine kills of her own against Texas Tech.

Freshman Julia Doyle led Oklahoma with 28 assists on the night. The freshman setter also added six kills off of nine swings with no errors to hit a personal-best.667 against the Red Raiders, five digs in the back court and a team-best three service aces on the night.

Maria Fernanda added to her Oklahoma dig record by notching 14 against Texas Tech Wednesday evening. In addition to leading the Sooners back court, Fernanda also added two service aces of her own in the match.

The Sooners continue the latter half of the 2012 Conference schedule this Sunday when they travel to Morgantown, W. Va., for the first time in program history to face the Mountaineers. First serve is set for 11 a.m. CT.

"You can't overlook West Virginia. No matter who you play, you never know what you can get. At any moment, any one team can beat you," explained Restrepo. "They are going to be very hungry on their home court; they'll be riled up and ready to go.

"I hope we can step up to the challenge and stay focused."