Homestand Continues with Cyclones

NORMAN – After a winning a thriller at home Wednesday night, the Oklahoma volleyball team is back at McCasland Field House Saturday to host Iowa State at 6 p.m. CT in a pink match for breast cancer awareness.

Saturday is fan appreciation day and free admission will be available for all. Live stats will be available on oklahoma.statbroadcast.com.

GAMEDAY STORYLINES

LAST TIME OUT

OU put together a wild comeback Wednesday to take out Kansas State 20-25, 19-25, 25-23, 25-16, 16-14 inside McCasland Field House.

Kansas State won the first two sets 25-20 and 25-19 before OU won the next three sets straight to claim the match.

The contest came down to the wire in the fifth set with the Sooners prevailing 16-14. OU came back from a 10-4 deficit and tied the frame at 12-all as Brianna Kadiku and Ashlynn Dunbar put up a wall on the outside. Kansas State won the next point, but Sarah Sanders blasted her 10^th kill of the night to level the score at 13-13. The Wildcats would score again before a Kansas State service error made it 14-14.
Dunbar came up big for the Sooners, firing off back-to-back kills to put the match away for OU.

The Sooners narrowly outhit Kansas State .187 to .180. Kansas State led in kills 65-52 and digs 119-109, but the Sooners used seven service aces to Kansas State's four to pull off the win.

Keyton Kinley anchored the OU defense with 30 digs, just two short of her season high. Three more players recorded digs in double figures as Ashlynn Dunbar and Paige Johnson amassed 18 apiece and Aysia Harty had 12. Setter Kylee McLaughlin was right behind with nine of her own. 109 digs are the most by the Sooners in a match this season.

At the net, both teams recorded 11.0 blocks. Kadiku led the charge with eight while Sanders tallied five.

Sarah Maras amassed 20 kills on a .373 clip, recording just one error on the night. Dunbar chipped in 15 for her seventh double-double this season and Sanders had 10 of her own.

DEFENSIVE SPECIALISTS

Into the fourth week of Big 12 action, OU ranks in the top three of four defensive statistical categories: digs (1016), digs per set (15.88), blocks (146), blocks per set (2.28) and opponent hitting percentage (.177).

The Sooners are first in digs per set with 15.88 and third in total digs with 1016. OU ranks second in total blocks (146) and checks in at No. 3 in blocks per set with an average of 2.28. Oklahoma has held its opponents to a .177 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 (281) and digs per set (5.02). The next closest player is West Virginia's Alexa Hasting, who owns 268 digs and a 4.25 digs per set average. Kinley's 32 digs in five sets against Oregon State are the most by a Big 12 player a single match this season. The junior is No. 35 nationally in digs per set with a 4.93 average. Kinley is the Big 12 leader and and third among Power Five players.

Kadiku is second in the league in blocks per set with 1.23. The senior ranks second in total blocks with 65.

As a team, OU checks in at No. 38 nationally in digs per set (16.33), good for third in the Power Five.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES EVERYWHERE

Multiple Sooners have registered multiple double-doubles this season as setter McLaughlin has eight and Dunbar is right behind with seven. Dunbar's most recent double-double came against Kansas State when she had 15 kills to go with 18 digs.

OU is 11-1 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 Dunbar has proven herself as OU's go-to hitter this season with 618. The graduate transfer leads the team in kills with 196, 33 ahead of the next closest player in Sanders (163)

Dunbar has registered double-digit kills in 10 of OU's 16 matches. She has tallied 15 or more kills in six of those contests.

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 135 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.

Kadiku has fired off 16 aces with a season-high three against Kansas. 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

Oklahoma checks in at No. 31 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings.
OU earned the 800^th program win as it defeated Kansas 3-1 in Norman on Oct. 5.
Oklahoma is undefeated at home, compiling a 7-0 record inside McCasland Field House.
The Sooners are undefeated in four-set matches and 6-1 in five-set matches.

SCOUTING REPORT

IOWA STATE

Iowa State is 11-6 overall and 2-3 in league play. ISU sits in fourth place in the Big 12. The Cyclones swept TCU at home in their last outing.

Oklahoma is 45-38 all-time against the Cyclones. The teams split the 2018 series with OU winning 3-1 in Ames and Iowa State sweeping the Sooners in Norman.

UP NEXT

The Sooners take a trip to Lubbock on Oct. 25 for a 2 p.m. CT match with Texas Tech.

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