Miami Upsets No. 18 Oklahoma for Tournament Title

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Lane Carico registered 19 kills and 16 digs to help the University of Miami volleyball team to a 3-1 upset victory over 18th-ranked University of Oklahoma in the championship match of the Hurricane Invitational on Saturday night at the James L. Knight Sports Complex.

Miami (9-0) defeated the Sooners on scores of 17-25, 25-17, 26-24 and 25-19 for its first victory over a ranked opponent since upsetting 15th-ranked Wisconsin on Dec. 7, 2002 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

En route to being named Tournament MVP, All-America outside hitter Lane Carico (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) was the impact player in tonight’s match with her fifth double-double of the year as she produced 19 kills and 16 digs.

However, it was the UM defense that highlighted the night. The Hurricanes out-dug the Sooners 90-78 and registered 72 kills against OU’s 55.

Oklahoma (9-2) took the first set, 25-17, behind four kills from Sallie McLaurin. She hit .667 in the set and the Sooners hit at a .419 clip, all while holding the Hurricanes to .278 hitting in the frame.

Miami stormed back in the second set to knot the match at a set apiece as the Canes defense limited the Sooners to just a .167 clip (14-7-42) while using four blocks from redshirt freshman Emani Sims (Glenview, Ill.) and three from Lane Carico (Manhattan Beach, Calif.). UM cruised late in the set for the 25-17 victory.

The all-important third set was back-and-forth until UMiami took advantage of consecutive OU attack errors to put the Canes up, 25-24. Sophomore Alex Johnson (Tallahassee, Fla.) registered the final point with an ace to allow the Canes to go up a set in the title match.

With the fourth set deadlocked at six, Oklahoma head coach Santiago Restrepo earned a red card that awarded UM a point. The Canes followed that with a kill from senior middle blocker Ali Becker (Katy, Texas) and a kill from senior setter Katie Gallagher (Winter Park, Fla.) to take a 10-8 lead. Miami never looked back from that point as it was fitting that Carico place the match’s final kill for the 25-19 win.

All-Tournament selection Suzy Boulavsky led the Sooners with 15 kills and added two blocks. McLaurin also touched double-figures with 13 kills, three digs and two blocks. All-Tournament Team selection Brianne Barker setup the offense with 41 assists.

While Carico’s 19-kill outing led the UM offense, All-Tournament selection Johnson finished with nine kills and a season-high 19 digs. Gallagher finished with a double-double of her own as she supplied 48 assists and 16 digs. Sophomore Taylor Hollins (Long Beach, Calif.) added four kills and a season-high 14 digs, while sophomore libero Ryan Shaffer (San Jose, Calif.) picked up 18 digs.