Sooners Face No. 8 Penn State in Sweet 16
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – The University of Oklahoma volleyball team takes on No. 8 Penn State (28-5) Friday evening in third round action of the 2010 Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship. First serve is set for 6 p.m. CT from Recreation Hall on the Penn State campus. The Sooners (23-10) are making their third appearance in the Sweet 16 and first since 2006.
Oklahoma advanced to the University Park, Pa. Regional after defeating Wichita State (3-0) and No. 22 Tulsa (3-2) last weekend in first and second round action in Norman. Penn State downed Niagara and Virginia Tech to advance.
The Sooners and Nittany Lions previously met on Oct. 2, 1981 in Springfield, Ill. with Penn State sweeping the match. The winner advances to the Elite 8 and faces the advancing team from Friday’s first match between Duke and Missouri.
Oklahoma is having one of its best offensive seasons since 2006. The Sooners are hitting .227 as a team and averaging 13.60 kills per set. OU is also getting it done in the front row, averaging 2.27 blocks per set, its most since averaging 3.13 bps in 2006.
Penn State is the three-time defending national champion and earned the No. 4 national seed. The Nittany Lions have won an -record 92 straight home matches.
Oklahoma head coach Santiago Restrepo returns to the state where his coaching career began and where he earned Division I-AA All-America honors at East Stroudsburg. Restrepo was a four-time All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference selection from 1983-86 and returned to his alma mater as head coach from 1994-97.
Updated 12-10-2010
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