Volleyball Set for Red River Rivalry

Oklahoma

²Texas

Thursday, Oct. 11 / 7 p.m. CT / Longhorn Network
Friday / 7 p.m. CT / Longhorn Network / Austin, Texas / Gregory Gymnasium

NORMAN — The Oklahoma volleyball team is set for its final road trip of the season when it travels to Austin, Texas for the Red River Rivalry. The Sooners and Longhorns are set for a pair of matches on Thursday and Friday. Both matches will air on the Longhorn Network at 7 p.m. CT.

WEEKEND STORYLINES

LAST TIME OUT
The Sooners dropped a pair of matches to Iowa State at home over the weekend. Both matches went to four sets with the Cyclones earning the win in both. OU and Iowa State had not played since 2019 when the teams split their two matches due to COVID issues in 2020.

The Sooners took the first set in game one but dropped the next three to Iowa State. Megan Wilson led the Sooners with 14 kills on the night, followed by 13 from Savannah Davison. Peyton Dunn chipped in 31 assists on the night. In game two, the Sooners took the second set but couldn't overcome a powerful Cyclone offense. Dunn recorded her ninth double-double of the season with 30 assists and 10 digs.

WELCOME TO THE BLOCK PARTY
The Sooners defense has been solid in 2021 with some impressive outings. Against TCU, the Sooners recorded a season-best 22.0 blocks. Against Texas Tech, OU notched 10 solo blocks to set a new program record for blocks in a five-set match. OU has recorded double-digit blocks in all but eight matches this season. Within the Big 12, the Sooners rank first with 255 total blocks and second with 2.68 blocks/set. In conference matches only, OU is first with 140.0 total blocks and 2.75/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 third on the team in blocks (60.0) and fourth in digs (184). Kemohah has filled the shoes left by two-time conference libero of the year Keyton Kinley and leads the team with 405 digs and could break into the record books for digs in a season.

Megan Wilson has been an offensive spark for the Sooners, leading the team with 349 kills and a 3.71 kills/set mark. Kristen Birmingham has appeared in 61 sets for the Sooners and made impact plays. The freshman's 48.0 blocks rank fourth on the team with sophomore Kelsey Carrington ranking sixth with 31. Sophomore Sam Anthony has seen significant time as a defensive specialist and ranks second on the team with 204 digs in 93 sets played. Tyler Alcorn has appeared in 70 sets and posted 67.0 total blocks to go with 48 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. Paige Anderson's 18 solo blocks have her tied for sixth all-time for solo blocks in a single season. Megan Wilson's 16 solo blocks rank ninth all-time in program history for a single season 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). The Sooners set a new program record for solo blocks in a five-set match with 10.0 against Texas Tech (Oct. 14).

ANDERSON'S GOT AMMO
Senior Paige Anderson has been impressive in 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 seven matches. The senior has now tallied double-digit kills in 10 matches this season and had 10-plus in seven of the last 13. Anderson also leads the defense with 123.0 blocks on the year and 20.0 solo blocks. Her nine blocks against TCU are tied for the most by a Sooner this season. In conference play, Anderson is hitting .268 with 113 kills and has tallied 69.0 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 all but one match this season and has tallied 40-plus in 10 matches with a career-best of 54 against Texas Tech (Oct. 14). The freshman has also recorded a double-double on nine occasions. She has notched back-to-back double-doubles on three occasions and has recoded a double-double against five of the six Big 12 teams the Sooners have faced so far. Dunn has done it all this season tallying 902 assists, 67 kills, 184 digs and 60.0 blocks.

BATTLING IN THE BIG 12
Multiple Sooners hold top-10 rankings in the current conference standings. Megan Wilson ranks fourth in the league with 3.71 kills/set and first with 349 total kills. Savannah Davison ranks sixth with 3.43 kills/set and fifth with 281 total kills. Peyton Dunn ranks fifth with 9.49 assists/set and first with 902 total assists. Paige Anderson is second with 1.31 blocks/set and first in total blocks with 123. Callie Kemohah sits in third with 4.31 digs/set and second with 405 total digs.

In conference games only, Anderson ranks first in the league with 1.35 blocks/set and 69 total blocks. Davison ranks seventh with 3.40 kills/set while Wilson ranks ninth in league play with 3.26 kills/set. Dunn's 9.47 assists/set ranks eighth and her 468 total assists puts her in third. Kemohah ranks second in the league with 4.54 digs/set and first with 227 total.

SCOUTING TEXAS
Texas dropped its first match of the season to then-No. 10 Baylor last weekend. The Longhorns began the season 18-0 and 9-0 in Big 12 play before falling in four sets at Baylor. The Longhorns have spent most of the 2021 season ranked No. 1 after a runner-up finish at the 2020 NCAA Championship.

As a team, Texas ranks first in the league with a .327 hitting percentage, 12.66 assists/set and 2.22 service aces/set. Brionne Butler leads the league with a .447 hitting percentage in 65 sets while Asjia O'Neal ranks second with a .371 average.

UP NEXT

The Sooners will return to McCasland Field House Nov. 5-6 to host Iowa State. Tickets can be purchased at SoonerSports.com or by calling the ticket office at (405) 325-2424.

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

WEEKEND STORYLINES

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Players Mentioned

Tyler Alcorn

Paige Anderson

Sam Anthony

Kristen Birmingham

Kelsey Carrington

Savannah Davison

Peyton Dunn

Callie Kemohah

Keyton Kinley

Megan Wilson

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