OU Faces Top-Ranked Baylor Wednesday

NORMAN – The Oklahoma volleyball team will face its first ranked opponent of the season Wednesday as it travels to No. 1 Baylor.
The match is set for a 7 p.m. start and will be available on Big 12 Now on the ESPN+ app with John Morris on play-by-play and Katie Staiger as color commentary.

GAMEDAY STORYLINES

LAST TIME OUT

OU swept the opening week of Big 12 play as it took down TCU (3-0) and West Virginia (3-1).

The Sooners ousted the Horned Frogs (5-6, 0-1 Big 12) 25-17, 25-17, 25-23 to remain undefeated (5-0) inside McCasland Field House this season. OU put on a show, swinging .248 with 42 kills on the contest.

The OU defense dominated at West Virginia as the Sooners came out on top 25-8, 25-23, 29-31, 25-21. Oklahoma held the Mountaineers to a .121 hitting percentage, the second lowest by an opponent this season.

Sooners players combined for 70 digs in the contest as libero Keyton Kinley led the effort with 24. Two more players added double-digit digs as Aysia Harty had 13 and Ashylnn Dunbar added 12.

KINLEY NAMED DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Kinley was named the Big 12's Defensive Player of the Week on September 30 after anchoring an OU defense that led the Big 12 in digs during the first week of conference play. The libero registered 41 digs across two matches to average 5.86 digs per set, both league highs.

Behind Kinley, OU held its opponents to a .099 hitting percentage, good for second in the Big 12.

Kinley had a match-high 17 digs and chipped in two assists and two kills against TCU. The Lexington, Ky., product followed that performance up with 24 digs to go with five assists at West Virginia.

DEFENSIVE SPECIALISTS

Through one week of Big 12 play, OU leads the conference in digs per set with 16.35 and is second in total digs with 883. The Sooners have registered the second-most blocks with 128 while checking in at No. 3 in blocks per set with 2.37.

OU has held its opponents to a .167 hitting percentage in 2019, the second lowest among Big 12 schools.

Individually, Kinley leads all Big 12 players in both digs (248) and digs per set (5.39). The junior has 23 more digs than the next closest player (Alexa Hasting of West Virginia).

Brianna Kadiku registered 12 blocks during the first week of Big 12 competition to rank first among league players in that category. With seven blocks at West Virginia, Kadiku accounted for half of OU's 13 total team blocks. The senior paces the Big 12 in blocks per set with 1.40 on the year. Kadiku has put up 60 blocks this season, just one behind conference leader Avery Rhodes (Iowa State), who has 61.

NATION'S BEST

OU ranks in the top 50 among Division I volleyball players in two different statistical categories. The Sooners are 26^th nationally in digs per set with 16.66 checking in as the highest-ranked Big 12 school and the only member of the conference in the top 100. Oklahoma is 48^th in total digs with 883.

Two OU players rank in the top 30 in individual statistical categories. Setter McLaughlin is 25^th in total assists as she has registered 550 this season. Knley is No. 29 nationally in digs per set with a 5.06 average. Kinley is the Big 12 leader and one of just three Power Five players in the top 30.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE DUNBAR

Outside hitter Dunbar has recorded double-doubles in five of OU's last seven matches, reaching double figures in kills and digs in all five. The Seabrook, Texas, native has tallied double-digits in kills in the Sooners' last five consecutive contests, including 19 at West Virginia.

Dunbar has proven herself as OU's go-to attacker with 458 hitting attempts. Dunbar leads OU in kills with 147 this season, and is fifth on the team in digs with 94 and is the only hitter among the Sooners' digs leaders.

QUICK HITS

The Sooners ride a three-match winning streak into Wednesday's contest.
The AVCA No. 1 Bears will be OU's first ranked opponent this season.
OU's last road win over a ranked opponent was a sweep of then-No. 2 Texas on Oct. 25, 2014.
Oklahoma is approaching 800 wins all-time, sitting at 799 heading into the Baylor match.
The Sooners went 8-1 in the month of September.

SCOUTING REPORT

BAYLOR

The No. 1 Bears enter the match at 11-0 overall and 1-0 in Big 12 action. Baylor is the last remaining undefeated team in the NCAA and is just the third Big 12 team in league history to achieve an AVCA No. 1 ranking after Texas and former member Nebraska.

Baylor has swept nine of its 11 opponents and owns five wins against top-25 opponents, taking out No. 4 Wisconsin, No. 11 Marquette, No. 13 Hawaii, No. 17 Missouri and No. 18 Creighton.

The Bears swept Kansas in their Big 12 opener. Baylor hit .386 for its seventh .300-or-better performance this season, aided by 17 kills from Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week Yossiana Pressley.
Pressley leads the league in kills per set with a 5.97 average, while Baylor's Kara McGhee has the best hitting percentage in the Big 12 with .391. Shelly Stafford is second on the list with a .389 clip.

OU leads the all-time series with Baylor 39-21. Baylor swept the 2018 series, defeating the Sooners 3-1 in Waco and 3-1 in Norman.

UP NEXT

OU is home to host Kansas on Saturday at 5 p.m. CT.

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