2023-10-10 18:01:54
NORMAN – The Sooners will play their first midweek game of the season, welcoming TCU to McCasland Field House for a Wednesday evening match. The Sooners and Frogs will take to the court at 6 p.m. CT.
On Saturday, the Sooners will travel to Lawrence, Kan., to face the No. 16 Jayhawks. The match is set for a 1 p.m. CT start time. This will be the last time that the Sooners face both TCU and Kansas as conference opponents.
Wednesday’s match is Military Appreciation Night. Service members can purchase $3 tickets and the first 150 students will receive a free t-shirt.
OU Athletics’ clear bag policy will be in effect and walk-through metal detectors will be utilized. More information can be found here.
Date: Wednesday, Oct. 11
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Opponent: TCU
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Date: Saturday, Oct. 14
Time: 1 p.m. CT
Opponent: No. 16 Kansas
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
LAST TIME OUT
The Oklahoma volleyball team dropped a three-set match to No. 10 BYU Saturday afternoon falling 25-23, 25-21, 28-26.
Alexis Shelton notched 14 kills to lead the Sooners offense, her 11th match with double-digit kills in 2023. Taylor Preston added 11 kills while Kelsey Carrington, Lydia Burts and Hannah Pfiffner each tallied five. Burts also recorded seven kills on the night, including two solo.
Payton Chamberlain recorded 34 assists, while Callie Kemohah tallied 13 digs and four assists. Ireland McNees added eight digs for a career high.
HOME SWEET HOME
With 14 matches played in 2023, the Sooners have only played five at home. The BYU match on October 7 started a span where OU will play five of its next six matches inside the friendly confines of McCasland Field House. After Oct. 24, the Sooners will have just three more home matches while having six on the road.
ROAD WARRIORS
The Sooners spent the first three weeks of the season away from the friendly confines of McCasland Field House. This is the first time since 2018 that the Sooners spent three weeks on the road to open the season.
OU will spend more than half their season away from Norman with 16 road matches on the schedule. The Sooners are currently 5-2 in away matches and 1-2 in true road games.
YOUNG AND HUNGRY
The underclassmen on the 2023 team have been called on to make an impact this season and have done just that. Of the five Sooners who have played in every set this year, three are underclassmen in sophomores Alexis Shelton and Taylor Preston and freshman Mele Corral-Blagojevich.
Shelton and Preston have controlled the offense for the Sooners in 2023, ranking first and second, respectively, in kills per set and total kills. Shelton also ranks third in total digs while Preston ranks third in total blocks. Corral-Blagojevich leads the team with 14 service aces and is fourth with 69 digs.
Freshman Hannah Pfiffner has also appeared in all but one match, recording 84 kills and 20 total blocks. Sophomore Syndey Thompson has made an appearance in 41 sets and has recorded 42 digs and 12 service aces.
BLOCKING BURTS
Lydia Burts has made a huge impact on the Sooners defense, leading the team with 65.0 total blocks on the season, 34 more than the next closest player. Burts has recorded at least five blocks in seven matches this season, including a season-best 9.0 in the season opener.
Burts has recorded six digs or more in five matches, including 7.0 against BYU. Burts has 13 solo blocks on the season with a season high four against UCF.
QUICK HITTERS
The Sooners will face all four new conference opponents in 2023. OU will play a two-game series at UCF and Cincinnati, host Houston at home for two and face BYU at home once.
The Sooners play just three non-conference games at home in 2023. OU will host UCLA for a pair of matches in mid-September and Tulsa in late October.
Eight of OU’s regular season opponents earned berths to the 2022 NCAA Tournament, including Texas, Ball State, Houston, UCF, Iowa State, BYU, TCU and Baylor. Texas was crowned the national champion, while Houston and Baylor made it to the regional semifinals
THE OPPOSITION
TCU is 11-6 overall and 4-2 in conference action, coming off a split with Cincinnati. Melanie Parra leads the team with 312 kills on the year to go with a 4.80 kills/set mark. Riley Buckley has noted 555 assists per set and 169 digs to help pace the offense. Cecily Bramschreiber leads the team with 223 digs on the year. Sarah Slyvester leads the team defensively with 88.0 blocks.
Kansas is 12-4 overall and 3-3 in Big 12 play. The Jayhawks are coming off back-to-back losses to Texas but have wins over Houston and Texas Tech. Kansas is led offensively by Reagan Cooper with 189 kills and a 3.44 kills/set mark. The Jayhawks have four players with over 120 kills on the season. Camryn Turner has 601 assists on the year and Burns boasts 207 digs to lead the team.
FOLLOW THE SOONERS
For updates and more information on Oklahoma Volleyball, follow the Sooners on Twitter and Instagram (@OU_Volleyball) and like Oklahoma Volleyball on Facebook.
UP NEXT
The Sooners will host Kansas State for a pair of matches Oct. 19 and 20.
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