If there was ever a time for the OU volleyball team to string together a winning streak, that time is now.

Coming off a pair of road losses to two of the Big 12’s more accomplished defenses in No. 14 Kansas State and Missouri, the Sooners open a three-match home stand tonight when they host Kansas.

First serve is set for 7 p.m. from McCasland Field House, and the first 250 fans in attendance will receive an OU mouse pad.

With only one road match remaining — the Nov. 26 season finale at Colorado — the Sooners (10-14, 6-10 Big 12) have a prime opportunity to close out the 2008 season on a high note and junior outside hitter Bridget Laplante is excited to finally be back home.

“I feel we’ve had quite a few games on the road recently,” Laplante said. “It’s always good to play in front of your home crowd, so we’re excited.”

Playing outside of Norman has been a daunting task for OU this season, who has only managed two road victories in Big 12 play.

To the Sooner’s advantage, the same can be said for the Jayhawks (12-12, 6-9 Big 12), who have notched only one road victory during their conference schedule — a 3-1 defeat of Texas Tech, who is winless in conference play.

Since defeating Texas Tech, the Jayhawks dropped their next four road outings and have proven to be unpredictable when away from Lawrence, Kan.

In those four road losses, Kansas was out-hit by each of its opponents and gave up a hitting clip of over .250 in all but one of those losses. Head coach Santiago Restrepo said dictating the pace of the match will be crucial.

“They’re a good team and they’re very fast,” Restrepo said. “They’ve been through a lot, so we just need to match their efforts and play our game.”

Despite Kansas’ sub-.500 conference record, the Jayhawks bested the Sooners in four sets in Lawrence on Oct. 18.

While the Sooners out-hit, out-blocked and committed 10 fewer attack errors than Kansas, the Jayhawk defense rose to the occasion, recording 74 digs to OU’s 59, and Laplante said the Sooners will need to return to favor tonight.

“They put up a big block and they have really powerful hitters,” Laplante said. “Our defense is going to be really key, as well as our serve receive.”

The Jayhawks are coming off their first pair of consecutive sweeps this season, with defeats of Texas Tech and Colorado last week. The victories notched sophomore outside hitter Karina Garlington and freshman setter Nicole Tate conference honors as the Big 12 Offensive Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively.

Garlington, whose 3.77 kills per set rank fourth in the Big 12, managed 17 kills against the Sooners in their previous meeting and while the Sooner defense will be pivotal, the offense will need to match Garlington’s firepower.

In OU’s losses to No. 14 Kansas State and Missouri, only one Sooner – Laplante – broke the double-digit mark for kills, recording 14 against Kansas State, and she said the Sooners need to stick to the basics if they plan on breaking their current offensive slump.

“We’ve been playing against great defenses,” Laplante said. “The other team is obviously going to make our stats lower, but we just need to keep being aggressive and keep working hard and things will eventually fall our way.”

Following Kansas, the home stand continues on Wednesday, Nov. 19, when the Sooners host Texas A&M at 7 p.m.