After a scintillating four-set victory over Kansas in their Big 12 opener, the Tigers travel to Norman to face a very solid Oklahoma team.
Saturday, Sept. 19 vs. Oklahoma (8-2, 1-0), 11:30 am
If Missouri opened its season in good fashion, so did Oklahoma. The Sooners went into Manhattan, Kan., and defeated Kansas State in a very competitive match. The final scores of OU’s four-set win: 26-24, 24-26, 25-21, 25-15. Much like the Mizzou/Kansas match, neither team had a good hitting percentage (.196 for OU, .096 for K-State), but OU capitalized on 33 K-State errors to pull ahead in the match.
Judging from the numbers against K-State and for the full season, OU’s strength is defense. The Sooners already have four players who have tallied over 100 digs in Maria Fernanda (178), Bridget Laplante (130), Brianne Barker (117), and Caitlin Higgins (104).
They also have six players with double-digit total blocks on the year—Saran Freudenrich (42), Francie Ekwerekwu (29), Suzy Boulavsky (25), Laplante (19), Chrissy Disarro (16), and Barker (12).
Side note: If you recognize the last name “Ekwerekwu” as being familiar, it is. OU’s Ekwerekwu is the younger sister of former Missouri wide receiver Brad Ekwerekwu.
However, just because OU’s strength seems to be defense doesn’t mean that they don’t have any offense. Freudenrich (87), Ekwerekwu (85), Boulavsky (84), and Laplante (81) are tops on the team in kills—and while they don’t have any players with over 100 kills (such as Mizzou has with Julianna Klein and Rosa Medrano), their offense should not be taken lightly.
From the looks of it, though, if Mizzou can get into a swinging match with OU, the Tigers should be in good shape—especially with Paola Ampudia really coming on strong as of late. Oklahoma is hitting .214 on the year, while Mizzou is at .244. And while I’m sure Coach Wayne Kreklow would say that his team could always hit better, that advantage should be key if these two teams get into a fast-paced offensive match.
Fun facts: The tune to “Boomer Sooner,” OU’s fight song, was borrowed from other colleges’ fight songs—Yale’s “Boola Boola” and North Carolina’s “I’m a Tar Heel Born.”
Notable alumni include Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson, actor/director Ed Harris, and Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Jason Bartlett—who I’ll always remember for this, given that I was there.
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