NORMAN, Okla. ? In her last regular season collegiate match, Monique Gerlach had 13 kills and nine digs to lead Colorado to a 30-28, 30-28, 30-22 Big 12 Conference win over Oklahoma Friday afternoon at the Lloyd Noble Center.
Colorado finishes the regular season at 21-9, its best since a 22-8 finish in 1998. The Buffs clinched at least a tie for third place in the Big 12 with a 13-7 mark. Texas A&M and Kansas must win their respective matches tomorrow to catch CU for third. Texas A&M hosts Iowa State while Kansas is at home against Texas Tech.
Both teams hit well, especially in the first two games. Colorado hit .358 (38 kills-9 errors-81attacks) while Oklahoma came it at a .308 clip (40k-12e-91att). Gerlach hit .429 recording her 13 kills on 21 attempts with just four errors. CU hit .364 for the match (53k-13e-110att), while OU cooled off in game two, finishing at .275 (56k-20e-131att).
The Sooners, led by Joanna Schmitt's 18 kills, played tough allowing the Buffs to win by just two each of the first two games. OU led for most of the third game, but at 20-16 CU reeled off 11 straight points off of Gerlach's serve to take a 27-20 lead. The Buffs put the Sooners away at 30-22.
Maragda Santillana 11 kills and five digs. Sophomore Nicole Carr led the Buffs defensively with 11 digs. Allie Griffin had nine kills, eight digs and four blocks.
Colorado will wait for Sunday's NCAA Tournament announcement which will be broadcast live on ESPN news at 6 p.m. MST.
