OU Volleyball Starts 2012 With A Win

The Oklahoma Sooners volleyball team got its 2012 season off on the right foot, taking down Missouri State 3-1 (-19, 24-26, -17, -23) in their first game of the Nike Invitational.

The Sooners are coming off their third consecutive NCAA tournament appearance and field a young team after losing five seniors from last year's team.

Head coach Santiago Restrepo had three true freshmen in the starting lineup for tonight's match, including at setter, where Julia Doyle takes over for the departed four-year starter Brianne Barker.

Doyle performed well, dishing out 43 assists with six digs and three kills. Fellow freshmen Kierra Holst and Madison Ward also performed well, getting six kills each, while Holst added four block assists.

Senior Morgan Reynolds led the Sooners with 17 kills. Juniors Sallie McLaurin and Keila Rodriguez added nine kills each.

Missouri State had 62 kills to OU's 50, led by Christine McCartney's 18, but the Bears committed 32 attack errors, which led to just a .196 hitting percentage. OU had just 12 errors on 130 attempts.

Maria Fernanda had 17 digs to lead the OU defense, which had 49 digs for the match.

OU faces Western Michigan Saturday at noon before facing in-state rival Tulsa in the nightcap at 7 p.m. The Sooners will be looking for revenge against the Golden Hurricane, after Tulsa ended the Sooners' season in the first round of the NCAA tournament last year.