Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
Oklahoma
Spikers Stomp Sooners in Three
November 22, 2002 | Volleyball
NORMAN, Okla. - Monique Gerlach broke her own record for kills in a season by a middle as the volleyball team (14-14, 8-10 Big 12) beat Oklahoma (5-22, 3-16 Big 12) 30-27, 31-29, 30-25 Saturday afternoon at the Howard McCasland Field House to get their first win since Nov. 9 as they prepare to finish the 2002 season with the hopes of receiving a NCAA post-season bid.
"It was important for us to win this one," Colorado head coach Pi'i Aiu said. "Even though we didn't play very well we went out and fought hard. At this point in the season, every win counts. Hopefully now we have a little bit of momentum heading into our last couple of matches. We just need to continue to work hard."
Gerlach, a junior, led Colorado with 11 kills in the match. The Monarch Beach, Calif., native now has 394 kills on the season, which breaks her own record for kills by a middle blocker in a season as she finished her sophomore campaign with 387. Gerlach is on pace to become just the first middle blocker in CU history to reach the 400-kill mark in a season. She has now recorded double-figure kill totals in 22 of 28 matches as she has powered the Buffalo offense in 17.
Senior left side hitter Kim Taskey and senior left side hitter Sara Fredrickson came up big for the Buff defense, as Taskey tallied 11 digs in the match and Fredrickson grabbed 10 including a handful of clutch digs in games two and three.
Sophomore setter Allison Barnes also contributed to the Buffs' victory as she tied her career high with four service aces playing in a defensive specialist role.
Megan O'Connell led all hitters with 15 kills for the Sooners.
The Buffs hit .252 in the match while the Sooners slated a .197 hitting mark as a team. Colorado was outblocked six to seven.
The Buffaloes will now return home to host Baylor at 7 p.m. on Wed., Nov. 27 for their last home match of the season. The senior night match-up is slated to start at 7 p.m. Colorado will play Kansas in Lawrence on Sat., Nov. 30 to close out the 2002 regular season.
