Spooks and Spikes at McCasland Wednesday

NORMAN – The Oklahoma volleyball team is home to host No. 3 Baylor Wednesday at 7 p.m. CT.

Wednesday's home contest with No. 3 Baylor is set for a 7 p.m. The match will air on Fox Sports Oklahoma Plus with Chad McKee on the call and Kelly Files as the color analyst. The match will also air on KREF 93.3 radio in Norman with Chris Plank on the call.

Live stats will be available at oustats.com.

GAMEDAY BASICS

PROMOTIONS

The Spooks and Spikes-themed contest will feature free pumpkin painting for kids and BOOmer Fest carnival will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. behind the stands on the north end of the volleyball court, featuring carnival mini games, face painting and trick or treating for kids. BOOmer Fest is hosted by OU's Student-Athlete Innovative Leaders (SAIL). OU baseball and softball student-athletes will be in attendance in costume.

Fans wearing a Halloween costume can purchase a half-price ticket at the door for $5. Fans in costume must be able to remove any mask, hood, helmet, or any other element of the costume that obscures the face prior to security screening. Real or realistic-looking weapons are prohibited. Costumes should be family appropriate and without offensive language or content.

The OU Athletics clear bag policy and walk-through metal detectors will be in effect at the volleyball match and BOOmer Fest. More information can be found here.

WEDNESDAY STORYLINES

LAST TIME OUT

The Sooners had a break in the midweek before playing their lone match of the week at Texas Tech, resulting in a 3-1 victory. After giving up the first set, the Sooners stormed back to win three straight to put away the Red Raiders, 22-25, 25-21, 27-25, 26-24.

OU swung .165 in the match while holding Texas Tech to .146. The Sooners just edged Tech in kills 58-57 but the defense shone once again as OU posted a season-high 16.0 blocks to Texas Tech's 9.0.

Sarah Sanders paced the Sooners' offense with 16 kills on a .255 clip. Three more Sooners joined her in double figures as Paige Anderson and Ashlynn Dunbar chipped in 11 apiece and freshman Sanaá Dotson had 10.

RPI ON THE RISE

OU checked in at No. 25 in this week's RPI release. The Sooners have eight wins over top-100 RPI teams: No. 32 Iowa State; No. 42 Arizona State; No. 54 SMU; No. 59 Yale; No. 65 Texas Tech; No. 70 Georgia Tech; No. 77 TCU; No. 84 Indiana and No. 95 Oregon State. OU ranks third in the Big 12 behind AVCA and RPI top-five teams Baylor (No. 1) and Texas (No. 2).

DEFENSIVE SPECIALISTS

Into the sixth week of Big 12 action, OU ranks in the top five among Big 12 teams in five defensive categories: digs (1276), digs per set (16.57), total blocks (181), blocks per set (2.35) and opponent hitting percentage (.173).

The Sooners are first in total digs, amassing 1276. OU also leads the league in digs per set with a 16.57 average.

OU is second in the league in total blocks with 181, trailing only Texas Tech (197), while the Sooners are fifth in blocks per set with 2.35. Oklahoma has held its opponents to a .173 hitting percentage to rank second among Big 12 schools. OU is 12-0 when holding opponents to .100-.199 hitting and 1-0 when keeping them to .000-.099.

Individually Kinley leads all Big 12 players in digs (360) and digs per set (5.22). Kinley has three 30+ digs performances this season, with her 32 against Oregon State the second-most by a Big 12 player this year. Brianna Kadiku is second in total blocks (80) and blocks per set (1.21).

DOUBLE-DOUBLES EVERYWHERE

Multiple Sooners have registered multiple double-doubles this season as setter McLaughlin has 10 and Dunbar has recorded eight. Two OU players had double-doubles in the Tech contest as Dunbar had 11 kills and 14 digs and McLaughlin had 48 assists to go with 16 digs.

OU is 13-1 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 5-0 when two or more players have had double-doubles with wins over Yale, Arizona State, Georgia Tech, Kansas and Texas Tech.

A VERSATILE TRIO

Sooners' trio of setter McLaughlin, libero Kinley and outside hitter Dunbar have done it all for the Sooners, taking on roles outside their positions.

An offensive threat, McLaughlin has more kills than any other setter in the Big 12 conference with 58 total. She also has 198 digs on the year. With 88 assists to her name, Kinley has more than any other libero in the league.

Dunbar is fourth in digs among the Big 12's outside hitters with 157. She trails only Texas Tech's Emily Hill (242) and Michal Schuler (185) and Eleanor Holthaus (174) of Iowa State.

GO-TO GIRL

Outside hitter Dunbar has proven herself as OU's go-to hitter this season with 656 total attempts. The graduate transfer leads the team in kills with 220, 35 ahead of the next closest player in Sarah Sanders (185).

Dunbar has registered double-digit kills in 12 of OU's 19 matches. She has tallied 15 or more kills in six of those contests, most recently against Kansas State when she put away 15. Dunbar is No. 5 in the Big 12 in total kills (220) and kills per set (3.38). The Seabrook, Texas, native has been responsible for 251.5 total points this season, placing her sixth among league players. Her 3.87 points per set average ranks sixth in the Big 12.

A seasoned all-around player, Dunbar has also racked up 157 digs for the fourth-most by a Sooner this season. Dunbar is OU's only non-defensive specialist to have eclipsed 100 digs in 2019.

QUICK HITS

• The Sooners have sole possession of third in the Big 12 with a 6-2 record against the league.
• Oklahoma checks in at No. 25 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings.
• OU earned the 800th program win as it defeated Kansas 3-1 in Norman on Oct. 5.
• Oklahoma is undefeated at home, compiling an 8-0 record inside McCasland Field House.
• The Sooners are undefeated (5-0) in four-set matches and 6-1 in five-set matches.

SCOUTING REPORT

BAYLOR

The No. 3 Bears enter Wednesday's contest at 17-1 overall and 7-1 against the Big 12. Baylor is 8-1 on the road with its sole loss coming on Oct. 23 to No. 4 Texas in Austin. In its last competition, Baylor took down West Virginia as head coach Ryan McGuyre earned his 100th win at Baylor.

OU leads the all-time series with the Bears 39-21. Baylor took both matches in 2018 by a 3-1 count and defeated the Sooners 3-0 in Waco earlier in 2019.

UP NEXT

The Sooners are on the road Saturday for an 11 a.m. contest with Kansas.

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

Spooks and Spikes at McCasland Wednesday