Oklahoma
Abilene Christian
NORMAN — The Oklahoma volleyball team concludes its seven-match road stretch for a midweek matchup at Abilene Christian in Texas at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
"The road trip isn't complete yet," head coach Lindsey Gray-Walton said. "Abilene Christian has all the makings to be a hostile home environment against Oklahoma. Our team will have to recover and respond with clean play and a tunnel vision focus to finish the job."
OU is undefeated in the overall series matchup, leading the Wildcats 1-0 after sweeping them 3-0 at home last September. This will be the Sooners' first matchup in Abilene, Texas.
Live stats will be available through Abilene Christian's StatBroadcast page and fans can watch the match on ESPN+.
"We have a goal of going 10-2 in the preseason," Gray-Walton noted. "That is very much up for the taking, it's up to us to play our game to our standard."
MATCH DAY STORYLINES
WEEKEND SWEEP-STAKES
- The Sooners went 3-0 during their West Coast trip to the Santa Clara Tournament in Santa Clara, California. Their 7-2 start is the best since the 2019 season, which was head coach's Lindsey Gray-Walton's second season at the helm.
- Junior middle blocker Kelsey Carrington and sophomore setter Payton Chamberlain made their first appearance in the starting lineup this season. Carrington turned out the best defensive performance for a Sooner in 2022, matching a career-high nine blocks against Fresno State last Sunday. Chamberlain had her best match as a Sooner against the Bulldogs with 41 assists and a career-high five blocks against Santa Clara to open last weekend.
- OU opened the weekend with a sweep against Santa Clara in its first-ever matchup, 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-22). The defense made the difference as the Sooners posted a season-high 13 blocks and a season-best 24 block assists in the match. Sophomore Megan Wilson made a statement defensively with a career-high six total blocks.
- OU earned its first victory over Tulane last Saturday, where the Green Waves won the first two matches in the overall series. The Sooners out-hit Tulane .367 to .042 as they recorded their best offensive performance of the season.
- Against Fresno State, the Sooners rallied to pull off a 3-1 win to defeat the Bulldogs, in four sets, 25-17, 25-18, 23-25, 25-15. Freshman Taylor Preston led the court with career-bests in kills (19), digs (11), blocks (six) and service aces (three). She posted her second double-double of the season (19 kills, 11 digs) and is the only Sooner to do so this season. Defensively, newcomer Morgan Perkins posted a career-high seven blocks, all block assists.
- Wilson, Preston and sophomore Callie Kemohah earned All-Tournament recognition at the Santa Clara Tournament. With her second All-Tournament honor of the season, Wilson earned 31 kills, 17 digs and 12 blocks on the weekend. Preston racked up 38 kills and posted 16 digs and eight blocks, while Kemohah showed out defensively with 55 digs.
YOUNG AND HUNGRY
- The underclassmen on the 2022 team have been called on to make an immediate impact and have done just that.
- Wilson has controlled the offense for the Sooners, leading the team with 125 kills and a 3.79 kills per set. Both marks rank her third among the best in the conference. She also leads the team and conference with 23 service aces and is second in aces per set (0.70).
- A do-it-all athlete, sophomore setter Peyton Dunn ranks first on the team in assists (242) and second in digs (56). The Libero of the team, Kemohah, leads the top two spots in the conference with 72 digs and digs/set (5.21).
- Preston, a breakout star and newcomer, is the only Sooner to post a double-double this season. She earned her second over the weekend with a career-best 19 kills and 11 digs against Fresno State last Sunday. The Union, Kentucky native also added career-highs in blocks (six) and service aces (three).
- Freshman Morgan Perkins is already making an impact defensively, leading the Sooners with 39 blocks, 36 block assists and three block solos. During OU's win against Fresno State last Sunday, Perkins earned a career-high seven blocks.
WONDERFUL WILSON
- Wilson, an opposite/outside hitter, opened the season as the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, along with the most valuable player and spot on the All-Tournament Team at the OU Invitational and Santa Clara Tournament.
- Wilson has been on a tear and currently ranks third in the league with 3.79 kills/set. She also leads the league in total kills (125).
- The sophomore ranks second in the conference with 0.70 service aces per set and tied for first in total service aces (23).
- The Kingwood, Texas native ranks second in the conference, averaging 4.89 points per set and leads the Big 12 with 161.5 points.
CARRING-TON THE DEFENSE
- Carrington led the way defensively for the Sooners over the weekend, matching a career-high nine blocks against Fresno State Sunday, which is tied for second-best in the conference and first overall among the team. The last time Carrington earned this mark was on Oct. 23, 2020, at Kansas State.
- As a team, the Sooners posted a season-high 16 blocks, carried by Carrington and Perkins, who also added a career-best seven blocks.
- The Sooners currently rank fourth in the Big 12 in blocks per set, averaging 2.68, but led the weekend in that category with 3.85 blocks per set.
- OU has posted double-digit blocks in four of its last five matches, including its season high 16 against the Bulldogs last Sunday.
QUICK HITTERS
- The Sooners have played a five-set match, four four-set matches and four three-set matches this season. OU is 0-1 in five set matches, 3-1 in four-set matches and 4-0 in three-set matches.
- The Sooners are on the road for eight of 11 matches in the month of September. OU closes out its non-conference slate inside McCasland Field House against Texas Southern and Nevada. The Sooners open conference play in Austin, Texas, against the top-ranked Longhorns, before returning to McCasland for their home conference opener against Kansas at 6 p.m. CT, Sept. 28.
- Eight of OU's regular season opponents earned berths in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, including seven conference foes - No. 1 Texas, No. 15 Baylor, No. 19 Kansas, Iowa State, Kansas State, Texas Tech and West Virginia. The Longhorns reached the Elite Eight while the Jayhawks and Bears each advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, respectively.
SCOUTING ABILENE CHRISTIAN
- Abilene Christian enters Tuesday's match with a 3-5 overall record. The Wildcats are coming off a pair of 3-1 losses to Tulsa and UTEP last Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
- Head coach Alisa Blair enters her first season with the Wildcats after joining the staff in January 2022. Prior to ACU, Blair spent four years as an assistant coach at Stephen F. Austin State University.
- With an experienced roster, the Wildcats squad includes eight upperclassmen, including six seniors.
- Ashli Edmiston leads the Wildcats with 76 kills and a 2.53 kills per set mark, while Jada Birkel ranks second in total kills (56). Madison Rohre leads the team with 130 assists for a 4.33 assists per set average. Defensively, Braden Bossier leads the team with 23 blocks and .77 blocks per set, while Logan Browning tops the team in digs with 126.
NEXT SERVE
The Sooners will close out the non-conference slate at McCasland Field House this Friday to host both Texas Southern and Nevada at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.FOLLOW THE OKLAHOMA SOONERS
For updates, follow @OU_Volleyball on Twitter and Instagram, or like Oklahoma Volleyball on Facebook."complete" - Google News
September 12, 2022 at 11:45PM
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