Oklahoma Opens Big 12 Play at No. 8 Kansas

September 21 | Lawrence, Kan. | Horesji Center

Oklahoma

⁸Kansas

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Oklahoma Sooners
Record: 9-4 (0-0 Big 12) Coach: Santiago Restrepo (13th Season) Career Record/Years: 356-228/19 Rank: NR

Kansas Jayhawks
Record: 11-1 (0-0 Big 12) Coach: Ray Bechard (19th Season) Career Record/Years: 1,052-290/33 Rank: 8^AVCA

On the Air
TV	ESPNU Tiffany Greene Maria Taylor
Stream	ESPN3/WatchESPN

Player to Watch
Madison Ward // OH // RSr. In five career matches vs. KU, Ward has averaged 2.95 kills and 2.26 digs per set. She hit .385 with 18 kills and 15 digs in a Big 12-opening win over the Jayhawks (9/27/14).

NORMAN, Okla. – Big 12 play is here for the University of Oklahoma volleyball team and it begins on the road Wednesday night on national television. The Sooners visit No. 8 Kansas for a 6 p.m. tilt on ESPNU at the Horesji Center in Lawrence.

Oklahoma suffered a 0-3 weekend at the Pac-12 Challenge, its first such weekend since the start of 2015, to drop to 9-4 overall. Redshirt-senior Madison Ward leads the Sooners with 2.95 kills per set. Five OU hitters are averaging better than 2.30 kills per set with senior outside hitter Kimmy Gardiner second at 2.95 and first in digs at 3.43. Senior middle blocker Micaela Spann is first on the team in hitting percentage at .424 with 2.57 kills and 0.83 blocks per set. Sophomore outside hitter Alyssa Enneking, coming off an All-Tournament performance in Los Angeles, is averaging 2.78 kills and 1.84 digs per set. As a team, Oklahoma ranks second in the Big 12 with a .285 attack rate.

Kansas took its first loss of the season to No. 14 Purdue on Friday before bouncing back with a Saturday win over Southeastern Louisiana to enter conference play at 11-1. The No. 8 Jayhawks are holding opponents to a .118 attack rate, while hitting .233 as an offense. Rightside Kelsie Payne leads the way with 3.79 kills per set on a .303 attack rate. Outside hitter Madison Rigdon is second on the team at 3.49 kills per set. Setter Ainise Havili is averaging 10.60 assists and 2.42 digs per set. Libero Cassie Wait leads all Big 12 players in digs with 5.09 per set. Kansas and Oklahoma had three common opponents in the non-conference season as the Jayhawks picked up wins over Mississippi State, Lamar and Maryland.

Big 12 Openers

Oklahoma opened conference play with a 3-2 loss at Texas Tech (9/23). The Sooners are now 10-10 in Big 12 openers dating back to the league's inaugural season in 1996. OU's loss to the Red Raiders snapped a stretch of nine conference-opening wins. Under Restrepo, the Sooners are 9-3 in the first Big 12 match of the season. In home Big 12 openers, OU is 11-8; having won each of its last seven.

Last Time They Met

No. 10 Kansas visited Norman on November 7, 15 last season and left with a 3-1 victory. The Jayhawks hit .343 led by 22 kills from Kelsie Payne. Ainise Havili dished out 57 assists and Cassie Wait collected 24 digs. For the Sooners, Micaela Spann totaled a team-high 14 kills and hit .407. In the second set, she led the way to a 25-20 OU win with six kills on a .667 attack rate.

Last 10 Meetings

Year	Result	Location
2015	Loss, 1-3	Norman
	Loss, 0-3	Lawrence
2014	Loss, 2-3	Lawrence
	Win, 3-2	Norman
2013	Win, 3-1	Norman
	Loss, 0-3	Lawrence
2012	Loss, 0-3	Lawrence
	Loss, 2-3	Norman
2011	Win, 3-1	Lawrence
	Win, 3-2	Norman

All-Time vs. Kansas

Oklahoma leads the all-time series, 48-35. Kansas swept the season series in 2012 and won its third in a row against the Sooners in Lawrence on October 9, 2013. OU ended that streak with a 3-1 win at home on November 20, 2013 for its first win over the Jayhawks since sweeping the season series in 2011. The series started with a 2-0 OU win in 1976. KU has been ranked in each of the last four match-ups, including a Sooner win at home in 2014 against the No. 23 Jayhawks.

By the Numbers: OU vs. KU

Redshirt-senior outside hitter Madison Ward has averaged 2.95 kills and 2.26 digs per set in five career matches against Kansas. She hit .385 with 18 kills and 15 digs in a Big 12-season opening win over the Jayhawks (9/27/14). In the past two seasons, junior middle blocker Marion Hazelwood is hitting .325 with a 2.47 kills and 1.00 blocks per set average in four matches against Kansas. As a freshman, she totaled 17 kills in Lawrence (11/29/14).

Enneking's Career Night

Against No. 5 Washington in Los Angeles last weekend, sophomore outside hitter Alyssa Enneking followed a 14-kill effort vs. Maryland earlier in the day with a career-best 18 kills to go with seven digs. Enneking hit .238 with a team-best 3.45 kills per set on the way to earning the first All-Tournament honor of her career.

Up Next

The Sooners welcome No. 5 Texas to McCasland Field House on Wednesday, September 28. The game will be Oklahoma's annual "Pledge for a Cure" match and air nationally on ESPNU.