Transcript Staff
Oklahoma went into Wednesday's Senior Night meeting with second-ranked Texas confident it had a chance to pull off the upset.
But the season's second Red River Rivalry meeting went much the way of the first, and the Longhorns swept the Sooners for the second time this season 25-19, 25-14, 25-19.
In fact, Texas (23-1, 18-1 Big 12) was even more dominant than it was when the teams met in Austin Oct. 10, when the Sooners (18-10, 11-8) lost two of the three sets by two points.
Destinee Hooker led the Longhorns with 18 kills and added seven digs while setter Ashley Engle racked up 29 assists.
Suzy Boulavsky continued her hot play for the Sooners, scoring eight kills and three digs.
Francie Ekwerekwu and Caitlin Higgins led OU with nine kills each, and Higgins added an ace and seven digs.
Brianne Barker had 28 assists for the Sooners and added three kills and five digs.
Bridget Laplante had three kills and eight digs and fellow senior Jackie Fotu saw limited action in the loss.
"When you play tentative volleyball, you're never going to win," OU coach Santiago Restrepo said. "We had a few bright moments, but for the most part, we just played hesitant."
The defeat doesn't hurt the Sooners' chances for an NCAA Tournament berth much, since they sit comfortably in fourth place in the Big 12 and the conference will likely send five teams.
OU's next game is another tough one. The Sooners finish out the regular season on the road at Iowa State Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
The victory gives Texas a 35-2 series lead over OU, with both Sooner victories coming since 2006.
