Sooners Win Five-Set Battle at Kansas

Friday, October 29

Lawrence, KS

6:30 PM

University of Oklahoma

10-10,4-5Big 12

Kansas

11-9,3-6Big 12

Oklahoma

Kansas

Photo by: Ty Russell

October 29, 2021 | Volleyball

Box Score Gamebook

LAWRENCE, Kan. – A back-and-forth battle went the way of the Sooners as the Oklahoma volleyball team defeated the Kansas Jayhawks, 3-2 (20-25, 25-16, 19-25, 25-23, 18-16), Friday night.

The Sooners (10-10, 4-5) have now won six-straight matches against the Jayhawks (11-9, 3-6) dating back to the final match of the 2018 season. Under head coach Lindsey Gray Walton, the Sooners are 6-1 all-time against Kansas.

Megan Wilson led the offense with a career-high 22 kills on the night. Savannah Davison added 17, while Kristen Birmingham picked up 10.

Peyton Dunn paced the offense with 48 assists and picked up her eighth double-double of the season with 11 digs.

Defensively, the Sooners tallied 14.0 blocks with Paige Anderson getting in on seven of them. Birmingham and Davison each chipped in four blocks apiece.

Callie Kemohah tallied 33 digs with Aysia Harty tallying 14 and Sam Anthony adding 10.

In set one, Kansas used an early 6-0 run to jump out to an 11-6 lead and force the Sooners to call timeout. Out of the break, Alcorn picked up her first kill of the night to pull the Sooners within four. The Sooners used a 3-0 run to pull within two of Kansas at 13-11, but the Jayhawks pushed their lead back out to five. OU used a 4-0 run, capped off by a kill from Birmingham to close the gap and force a Kansas timeout. The Jayhawks used a 3-0 run to close out the set, 25-20 and take a 1-0 advantage in the match.

OU came out firing on all cylinders in set two, jumping out to a 5-0 lead to force a Jayhawk timeout. The Sooners kept their foot on the gas pushing the lead to 12-2 after an Aysia Harty service ace. Kansas fought back to make it a 17-11 match as the Sooners called timeout. Out of the timeout, OU used a 3-0 run to push their lead to 22-14. Wilson would close out the set with her sixth kill of the match to give OU the 25-16 win.

Kansas took the early lead in set two, 14-3 to force the Sooners to call timeout. Out of the break, Wilson picked up a kill to stop the Jayhawks scoring run. OU used a 3-0 run of their own to pull within eight and used another 6-0 run to make it 23-19, Kansas. The Jayhawks ultimately took the set, 25-19, and a 2-1 advantage in the match.

In set four, the teams traded points up to a 6-6 tie before the Sooners used a 3-0 scoring run to take a 9-6 advantage. The teams continued to battle back-and-forth with Kansas taking a lead at 13-12. A kill from Birmingham tied the set late at 19-all. With the score at 23-23, OU closed out the set, 25-23, to force a fifth and final set.

The Jayhawks took an early 4-2 lead in the final set. Kansas would keep a two-point advantage most of the final set before extending its lead to 10-6. Trailing 13-9, the Sooners climbed back to make it a one point game after a Birmingham block and force a Kansas timeout. Out of the break, the Sooners tied the match at 13-all. The teams would trade points up to 16-16 and a block from Anderson and Davison clinched the set, 18-16, and the match for Oklahoma.

OU and Kansas will be back in action Saturday at 4 p.m. for the second and final game of the series. The match can be watched live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

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