Kinley Named Defensive Player of the Week

NORMAN – Oklahoma defensive specialist Keyton Kinley has been named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, the conference announced Monday.

Kinley anchored 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.

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

Kinley paces the conference in total digs (248) and digs per set (5.39) this season. The junior has led the OU defense to a Big 12-best 16.35 digs per set average, while the Sooners have held opponents to .167 hitting this season to rank second in the league in that category.

This is OU's first weekly honor this season and the fourth of Kinley's career. The junior was named Defensive Player of the Week three times in 2018 en route to Libero of the Year accolades.

Kinley and the Sooners continue Big 12 play at Baylor on Wednesday at 7 p.m. CT. OU is home to host Kansas Saturday at 5 p.m.

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