Volleyball to Host Kansas Friday, Saturday

NORMAN – The Oklahoma volleyball team returns to McCasland Field House for a pair of matches against Kansas. The Sooners and Jayhawks will face off on Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m. Friday's match will air on Fox Sports Oklahoma with Saturday's match as an SS.tv exclusive.

WEEKEND STORYLINES

LAST TIME OUT
The Sooners went 0-2 on the road at No. 2 Baylor. OU played back-to-back series with the No. 1 (Texas) and No. 2 teams in the nation to open the season. After falling behind, 0-2, in Thursday's matchup, the Sooners dominated the third and fourth sets to force the defending Big 12 Champions into a decisive fifth set. Despite a valiant effort, the Sooners ultimately fell, 16-25, 13-25, 25-17, 25-22, 13-15. Guewe Diouf recorded a career-high 20 kills and 13 digs, while Grace Talpash notched a career best 42 digs. Three Sooners had double-digit kills on the night as Sarah Sanders (14) and Sanaa Dotson (13) helped lead the offense. In game two, OU struggled to find momentum falling 3-0 to the Bears, 25-16, 25-14, 25-16. Diouf reached the double-digit kill mark for the fourth-straight match while Keyton Kinley tallied a season-best 19 digs.

MAKING HER MARK
Freshman Guewe Diouf has come out swinging for the Sooners as the offensive leader. Diouf ranks second in the Big 12 with 4.07 kills per set and sixth with 61 total kills. Her 20-kill performance ranks sixth in the conference in five-set matches. Diouf has posted double-digit kills in all four matches this season, tallying 13, 18, 20 and 10. The freshman has also added 24 digs and six blocks on the year.

PLAYING LIKE THE VETS
The five newcomers to the Sooner squad for 2020 have shown that they can play just like their upperclassmen counterparts. During the first match against Baylor, five of the six players on the court were either sophomores or freshman. Kelsey Carrington and Guewe Diouf have played in all four matches, with Carrington getting the start in three and Diouf in all four. Sam Anthony has appeared in every match while Tyler Alcorn has appeared in three with two starts. Carrington ranks third on the team with nine blocks on the season and has added nine kills over 10 sets played.

#YOURMENTALHEALTHMATTERS
During Friday's game, the Sooners will wear green ribbons as part of the Oklahoma Mental Health Games Initiative. Led by OU student-athletes, the initiative aims to destigmatize the conversation around mental health and wellness.

BACK AT IT
The Sooners return 12 student-athletes from the 2019 roster, including Big 12 Libero of the Year Keyton Kinley. Three of OU's returners earned All-Big 12 accolades in 2019 as Kinley and Sarah Sanders earned first team honors, with Paige Anderson earning second team recognition. Additionally, Kinley was named the Big 12 Libero of the Year, marking the first time a Sooner won back-to-back awards.

QUICK HITS

This is the only weekend of home matches for the Sooners in the month of October. OU will play six matches on the road this month.
In 2019, the Sooners gave up just one set to the Jayhawks as they swept the all-time series.
The Sooners lead the all-time series, 51-40, and have won the last three matchups between the two teams.
Both teams will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak this weekend.

SCOUTING KANSAS

After pulling off the 3-2 upset over Baylor in the season opener, Kansas has lost its last five matches. Kansas has played three five set matches this season with a 1-2 record. The Jayhawks took Baylor to five as well as playing to five in both matches with West Virginia. Kansas has also dropped a pair of matches to No. 1 Texas, getting swept in both. Kansas is led by Ayah Elnady with 48 kills and Jenny Moser who boasts a 3.29 kills/per set average. Libero Molly Schultz ranks eighth in the conference with 3.58 digs/set. Freshman Caroline Crawford ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 1.04 blocks/set.

UP NEXT

The Sooners will begin a four-match road swing as they travel to the Little Apple of Manhattan, Kan., to take on K-State, Oct. 22-23. Both matches are set for a 6:30 p.m. CT start.

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