Sooners to Face Red Raiders in Norman

Oklahoma

Texas Tech

Thursday, Oct. 14 / 6 p.m. CT / SS.tv / Friday, Oct. 15 / 6 p.m. CT / BSOK / McCasland Field House / Norman, Okla.

NORMAN — The Oklahoma volleyball team is back in action inside McCasland Field House Oct. 14-15, hosting Texas Tech for a pair of matches.

Both matches are set for 6 p.m. CT start times. Admission into Thursday's match is free for Fvan Appreciation Day. Fans who attend Friday are encouraged to wear pink for the annual pink match and can receive a $5 ticket with proof of a TCU football ticket. The Sooners will also welcome back alumni in honor of homecoming and Alumni Night.

WEEKEND STORYLINES

LAST TIME OUT
The Sooners traveled to Fort Worth, Texas, splitting a pair of five-set matches with TCU. On Friday night, OU reverse swept TCU before being reverse swept themselves on Saturday night.

Paige Anderson recorded nine blocks and three Sooners had double-digit kills in Friday's 3-2 win (24-26, 23-25, 25-18, 25-23, 15-13). Anderson led both the offense and the defense on the day. Along with her team-best nine blocks, the senior added 11 kills on a .381 clip. Megan Wilson tallied 17 kills to go with three blocks and two assists. Savannah Davison added 12 kills with four digs and three blocks of her own. Peyton Dunn was just shy of yet another double-double with 43 kills and nine digs. The freshman setter also tallied five kills and three blocks.

On Saturday, OU was up 2-0 in the match before TCU came back to pull the reverse sweep on the Sooners, 13-25, 22-25, 25-19, 25-22, 15-12. Wilson had an impressive outing, notching 17 kills at a .375 clip with just two errors. The freshman also tallied five blocks, including four solo. Anderson added nine kills at a .412 clip to go with eight blocks, six of which she had in the first set. Sabrina Simms made her first start of the season and had quite the showing, tallying seven kills and nine blocks.

WILSON EARNS BIG 12 ACCOLADES
Megan Wilson was named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week for the first time this season. Wilson led Oklahoma offensively with 34 kills throughout the weekend as the Sooners split two matches with TCU. Wilson pitched in 18 kills on Friday to help the Sooners overcome a 0-2 deficit to reverse sweep the Horned Frogs. In Saturday's match the Kingwood, Texas native played nearly mistake-free, recording just two errors on 40 attempts while picking up 17 kills and hitting .375.

The freshman chipped in five digs and had eight blocks, including six solo blocks, on the weekend. Wilson also pitched in three assists in the two matches.

Wilson is the second Sooner to earn Rookie of the Week honors in 2021. She joins Peyton Dunn who has earned the award on three occasions. This also marks the third week in a row a Sooner was named Rookie of the Week. Along with fellow freshman Callie Kemohah, the trio have claimed a total of six Big 12 weekly honors – the most of any school.

WELCOME TO THE BLOCK PARTY
The Sooners defense came to work in Fort Worth, tallying an impressive 22.0 total blocks in Saturday's match. On the weekend the Sooners totaled 38 total blocks, 11 of which were solo blocks. On Saturday, three Sooners tallied nine blocks – Paige Anderson, Tyler Alcorn and Sabrina Simms. Anderson recorded six of her nine blocks in the first set alone. Anderson was responsible for getting in on 18 o the Sooners' 38 blocks. Megan Wilson recorded a season-best with five blocks on Saturday, including four solo blocks. OU has recorded double-digit blocks in all but six matches this season.

Within the Big 12, the Sooners rank first with 189 total blocks and second with 2.70 blocks/set. In conference matches only, OU is first with 74.0 and second with 2.85/set.

YOUNG AND HUNGRY
The underclassmen on the 2021 team have been called on to make an immediate impact and have done just that. The only two Sooners to play in every single set this year are freshmen Peyton Dunn and Callie Kemohah. Dunn grabbed the starting setter job and has been a do-it-all athlete as she ranks second on the team in blocks (48.0) and third in digs (138). Kemohah has filled the shoes left by two-time conference libero of the year Keyton Kinley and leads the team with 291 digs and could break into the record books for digs in a season.

Megan Wilson has controlled the offense for the Sooners, leading the team with 265 kills and a 3.84 kills/set mark. Kristen Birmingham has appeared in 44 sets for the Sooners and made impact plays. The freshman's 33.0 blocks rank fourth on the team with sophomore Kelsey Carrington ranking fifth with 31. Sophomore Sam Anthony has seen significant time as a defensive specialist and ranks second on the team with 152 digs in 69 sets played. Tyler Alcorn has appeared in 45 sets with 10 starts and posted 46.0 total blocks to go with 29 kills.

MAKE A MARK
The 2021 team has already made a mark in the record books. Callie Kemohah's 29 digs in a four-set match against Mississippi State (Sept. 10) are tied for the most in program history. Kemohah is the third Sooner to achieve the mark. As a team, the Sooners tied the program record for solo blocks in a four-set match with 7.0 against Lipscomb (Aug. 28).

ANDERSON'S GOT AMMO
Senior Paige Anderson had an impressive start to Big 12 play, tallying a career high of 18 kills against West Virginia (Sept. 25) and notching a hitting percentage of at least .350 in each of her last seven matches. The senior has now tallied double-digit kills in nine matches this season and had 10-plus in six of the last seven. Anderson also leads the defense with 89.0 blocks on the year and 14.0 solo blocks. Her nine blocks against TCU are tied for the most by a Sooner this season. In conference play, Anderson is hitting .404 with 76 kills and has tallied 35 blocks.

DUNN DOES IT ALL
Freshman setter Peyton Dunn has made an immediate impact to the OU offense in her first season with the Sooners. The Parker, Colo., native has notched at least 30 assists in every match this season and has tallied 40-plus in nine matches with a career-best of 50 against Houston (Aug. 28). The freshman has also recorded a double-double on six occasions, most recently against Kansas State on Oct. 2. Dunn has done it all this season tallying 680 assists (9.71/set), 60 kills, 138 digs and 48.0 blocks. The freshman ranks 16th in the nation in total assists and is the only Big 12 player in the top 20.

BATTLING IN THE BIG 12
Multiple Sooners hold top-10 rankings in the current conference standings. Megan Wilson ranks fourth in the league with 3.84 kills/set and first with 265 total kills. Peyton Dunn ranks fourth with 9.71 assists/set and first with 680 total assists. Paige Anderson is fourth with 1.29 blocks/set and first in total blocks with 89. Callie Kemohah sits in third with 4.16 digs/set and third with 291 total digs.

In conference games only, Anderson ranks fifth in the league with a .404 hitting percentage and second with 1.35 blocks per set. Wilson ranks ninth in league play with 3.16 kills/set. Dunn's 9.46 assists/set ranks seventh and her 246 assists puts her in third. Tyler Alcorn is third with 1.12 blocks/set and third with 29 total. Kemohah ranks second in the league with 4.35 digs/set and 113 total.

SCOUTING TEXAS TECH
Texas Tech enters Thursday's match 12-7 overall with a 2-4 mark in conference play. The Red Raiders dropped both matches to Kansas but picked up wins over then-No. 9 Baylor and Iowa State. Texas Tech most recently defeated Iowa State, 3-1, in Lubbock.

Kenna Sauer was named the conference Offensive Player of the Week, her second such honor of the season. Sauer had back-to-back 20 kill performances against ISU and tallied a double-double with 20 kills and 13 digs. In her first season at Tech after transferring from Missouri, Sauer sits at seventh in the Big 12 in kills per set (3.60) and third overall in kills (234). Her 30 kills against Sam Houston in September are the most by a player in the Big 12 this season. Sauer leads the Red Raiders in kills, kills per set, service aces and points.

PROMOTIONS

Thursday is Fan Appreciation Day and admission is free for all in attendance.
Friday is the Sooners' Breast Cancer Awareness match and fans are encouraged to wear pink. The first 100 fans will receive a pink rally towel.
OU will honor alumni on Friday night in honor of homecoming and Alumni Night.
Fans who present their TCU football ticket can purchase a volleyball ticket for $5.

UP NEXT

The Sooners will have a bye week before returning to the court on Oct. 29-30 at Kansas.

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

WEEKEND STORYLINES

PROMOTIONS

UP NEXT

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Players Mentioned

Tyler Alcorn

Paige Anderson

Sam Anthony

Kristen Birmingham

Kelsey Carrington

Savannah Davison

Peyton Dunn

Callie Kemohah

Keyton Kinley

Sabrina Simms

Megan Wilson

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