Volleyball Readies for Red River Matchup

NORMAN – The Oklahoma volleyball team is set for a Red River clash with Texas Saturday in Austin. First serve is set for 5 p.m. CT and the contest will be broadcast on the Longhorn Network.

Live stats will be available at texassports.com.

GAMEDAY STORYLINES

LAST TIME OUT

OU (11-4, 3-1 Big 12) earned the 800^th win in program history Saturday as it took down Kansas 3-1. The Sooners topped the Jayhawks (4-9, 0-3 Big 12) 23-25, 25-21, 25-16, 25-17 in front of over 1,000 fans to remain undefeated (6-0) inside McCasland Field House this season.

OU swung .241 in the match while holding the Jayhawks to .162. OU out-killed the Jayhawks 58-42 and posted 66 digs to Kansas' 54. The Sooners were a force from behind the service line, firing off seven aces.

Three OU players recorded double-doubles in the contest. Dunbar notched her sixth of season as she led the way with 18 kills to go with 11 digs. Keyton Kinley also registered a double-double, racking up 16 digs and 11 assists. Setter McLaughlin dished out 37 assists along with 12 digs. The setter also had seven kills on the day.

RISING IN THE RPI
OU checked in at No. 24 in the first RPI rankings released by the NCAA. Oklahoma is one of four Big 12 teams in the top 25, joining No. 1 Baylor, No. 2 Texas and No. 25 Iowa State.

The Sooners have earned six wins over teams in the top 100 after defeating No. 39 Indiana; No. 46 Arizona State; No. 63 TCU; No. 64 Oregon State; No. 78 SMU; and No. 88 Yale.
OU's four losses in 2019 have come at the hands of top-30 opponents in No. 1 Baylor; No. 13 Colorado State; No. 26 Cal and No. 27 Texas A&M.

DEFENSIVE SPECIALISTS

Through two weeks of Big 12 action, OU ranks in the top three of four defensive statistical categories: digs, digs per set, blocks, blocks per set and opponent hitting percentage.

The Sooners are first in digs per set with 16.07 and third in total digs with 980. OU ranks second in total blocks (142) and checks in at No. 3 in blocks per set with an average of 2.33. Oklahoma has held its opponents to a .172 hitting percentage, the second lowest among Big 12 schools. OU is 10-0 when keeping opponents to .100-.199.

Individually, Kinley leads all Big 12 players in digs (271) and digs per set (5.11). The next closest player is West Virginia's Alexa Hasting, who owns 233 digs and a 4.31 digs per set average. Brianna Kadiku is the Big 12's blocks per set leader with 1.28. The senior ranks second in total blocks with 58.

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-DOUBLES EVERYWHERE

Multiple Sooners have registered multiple double-doubles this season as setter McLaughlin has eight and Dunbar is right behind with six.

Three OU players had double-doubles in the Kansas contest as Dunbar had 18 kills and 11 digs; McLaughlin had 37 assists to go with 12 digs; and libero Kinley had 16 digs and a season-high 11 assists.

OU is 10-1 in contests where one player records a double-double, with the lone loss at Texas A&M on Sept. 17 as Dunbar had 19 kills and 12 digs. The Sooners are 4-0 when two or more players have had double-doubles with wins over Yale, Arizona State, Georgia Tech and Kansas

GO-TO GIRL

Outside hitter Ashlynn Dunbar has proven herself as OU's go-to hitter this season with 530. The graduate transfer leads the team in kills with 171, 20 ahead of the next closest player in Sarah Sanders.

Dunbar has registered double-digit kills in eight of OU's 15 matches. She has tallied 15 or more kills in five of those contests, most recently against Kansas when she put away 18.
Dunbar is No. 5 in the Big 12 in total kills and kills per set (3.49). The Seabrook, Texas, native has been responsible for 188.5 total points this season, placing her seventh among league players.
Her 3.85 points per set average ranks sixth in the Big 12.

A seasoned all-around player, Dunbar has also racked up 110 digs for the fourth-most by a Sooner this season. Dunbar is OU's only non-defensive specialist to have eclipsed 100 digs this season.

CAN'T TOUCH THIS

With 71 aces this season, OU ranks third in the Big 12 from behind the service line. The Sooners average 1.61 aces per set. Brianna Kadiku has fired off 16 aces with a season-high three against Kansas in OU's last contest. Kylee McLaughlin has 14 on the year and also registered a season-best three in the Kansas match. Paige Johnson joins them in double figures with 11 in 2019.

QUICK HITS

The Texas match will mark OU's second contest against a ranked opponent after facing No. 1 Baylor. With Texas ranked No. 4 in the latest AVCA Coaches' Poll, both of OU's ranked matchups have been against top-five opponents.
OU earned the 800^th program win as it defeated Kansas 3-1 in Norman on Oct. 5.
The Sooners are 6-1 on Saturdays in 2019 with their lone loss to Colorado State on Aug. 30 in Fort Collins.
Oklahoma is undefeated at home, compiling a 6-0 record inside McCasland Field House.
The Sooners are undefeated in four-set matches and 5-1 in five-set matches.
Oklahoma and Texas will square off in the Red River

SCOUTING REPORT

TEXAS

AVCA No.4 Texas enters the contest at 10-2 on the year and 4-0 against Big 12 teams. The Longhorns are undefeated (6-0) at home this year. Texas has given up just three sets inside Gregory Gym.

In its last contest, Texas swept Kansas State in Manhattan, defeating the Wildcats 32-30, 25-17, 25-18. The Longhorns have now swept their last three opponents and have dropped just one set in Big 12 play as Iowa State took one off Texas on Sept. 25.

UP NEXT

The Sooners return to Norman for two matches as they host Kansas State on Oct. 16 followed by Iowa State on Oct. 19.

For updates, follow @OU_Volleyball on Twitter or like Oklahoma Volleyball on Facebook.

Volleyball Readies for Red River Matchup