Texas Tech and Iowa State Up Next for OU Volleyball

NORMAN – The Big 12 slate continues for Oklahoma volleyball with its fourth trip to the Lone Star State where they face Texas Tech at 6 p.m. CT Wednesday in Lubbock, before returning to McCasland Field House to host Iowa State for Alumni Weekend at 6 p.m. Saturday.

OU has a 6-1 home record and 3-2 for away matches, while looking to earn its first conference win on the road this season.

"The bye weekend is always good for the bodies and minds as the mid-season grind gets on us," head coach Lindsey Gray-Walton said. "Texas Tech is a veteran lead team that is hungry to repeat their NCAA postseason appearance from last year and is off to a good start in league play so far."

The Sooners lead the overall series with the Red Raiders 42-38, while having a 15-17 record on the road. OU split a pair of matches with Texas Tech last season and look for its first win in Lubbock against the Red Raiders since Oct. 26, 2019. The Sooners are also looking for their first sweep against the Red Raiders since Oct. 4, 2017 (Norman) and first on the road since Oct. 12, 2016. Under coach Gray-Walton, OU has a 5-3 record against Texas Tech.

"Our emphasis, as always, is to assert our brand of play on our opponent, home or away," noted Gray-Walton.

For Fan Appreciation Day on Saturday, admission to the Iowa State match will be free for all fans since it's also football gameday in Norman. The match also serves as Alumni Weekend where 15+ of the most accomplished alumni return to campus for weekend festivities, along with being honored during the match.

"It's an exciting time as we welcome back our Oklahoma Volleyball Alumni this weekend," Gray-Walton said. "We talk about leaving it better than we found it and for those that have come before us. The brand of how we play the game creates the opportunities to hang banners like many before us have. We are striving to create that same foundational culture that can create even more championship moments for this program and its people."

OU leads the overall series with Iowa State 46-41, including 23-17 at home. The Cyclones have been on a three-match winning streak against the Sooners with OU's last win on Oct. 19, 2019, inside McCasland. OU is looking for their first sweep against Iowa State since Sept. 25, 2010 (Ames, Iowa) and first at home since Sept. 18, 2002.

"The quick turnaround will be a test physically and mentally," Gray-Walton noted. "We love being home with that (McCasland) Field House frenzy behind us. Iowa State is a great opponent that is well coached and has found a system that fits their needs for success. Defensively, they stay in every match, and it will be critical that we assert physical and fast plays against Iowa State to be efficient in rallies."

Wednesday's match at Texas Tech will air at 6 p.m. CT on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with live stats available through Texas Tech's StatBroadcast page. Saturday's match can be viewed on SoonerVision on ESPN+ at 6 p.m. with live stats available through OU's StatBroadcast page. For more information on how to watch Saturday's match, click here.

For fans in attendance, doors at McCasland Field House open an hour before each match. Parking is available in the Field House lot on the east side of McCasland Field House or the Duck Pond lot on the corner of West Brooks Street and South Jenkins Avenue.

OU Athletics' clear bag policy will be in effect and walk-through metal detectors will be utilized. More information can be found here.

"Our team continues to get better every day and the discipline in the details continues to be an emphasis for how we will yield the outcomes we desire," Gray-Walton said. "As a staff, we are excited about the peak that hasn't even happened yet for this group."

BIG 12 STORYLINES

LAST TIME OUT IN WACO

The Sooners continued Big 12 play on the road against No. 18 Baylor, where OU fell in a five-set thriller against the Bears, 3-2 (25-22, 18-25, 23-25, 25-20, 10-15).
Leading the Sooners offense, freshman trio - Alexis Shelton, Taylor Preston and Morgan Perkins - accounted for 35 out of the 48 Sooner kills with 15, 11 and nine kills, respectively.
Defensively, sophomore libero Callie Kemohah led OU with 21 digs, while sophomore Megan Wilson hit a career-high nine digs. Perkins also led the Sooners contingent with four blocks.

NATION'S BEST

A pair of sophomores rank in the top 30 among Division I volleyball players in four statistical categories.
Wilson ranks fifth in total aces with 37 and sixth in aces per set with 0.70. She leads the Power Five in total aces and is the only Big 12 player in the top 20 in that category. The sophomore is also 22nd nationally in points per set with 4.83, while ninth in the Power Five.
Kemohah ranks 26th in digs per set with 4.86 and is best in the Power Five in that category. She is also the only Big 12 player in the top 30.
As a team, the Sooners rank 17th in hitting percentage with .278 and is among four Big 12 teams in the top 20 in that category.

BATTLING IN THE BIG 12

The 2022 team has already etched their name six times in the record books.
As a team, the Sooners set program records for aces (11) and block assists (30) in a four-set match, along with 28 block assists in a three-set match.
Wilson's five aces in a three-set match is tied for the most in program history, while moving up to third in aces for a single season with 37. This is Wilson's fourth mark in the record book after posting 392 kills and 20 solo blocks during the 2021 season, putting her seventh and tied for fifth, respectively.
Perkins, a newcomer, has already made her mark in the record book after setting a program record for 11 block assists in a three-set match against Texas Southern (Sept. 16).

SIX FOR THE RECORD BOOKS

The 2022 team has already etched their name six times in the record books.
As a team, the Sooners set program records for aces (11) and block assists (30) in a four-set match, along with 28 block assists in a three-set match.
Wilson's five aces in a three-set match is tied for the most in program history, while moving up to third in aces for a single season with 37. This is Wilson's fourth mark in the record book after posting 392 kills and 20 solo blocks during the 2021 season, putting her seventh and tied for fifth, respectively.
Perkins, a newcomer, has already made her mark in the record book after setting a program record for 11 block assists in a three-set match against Texas Southern (Sept. 16).

BIG 12 DUB

The Sooners swept the Mountaineers, 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-20) on Oct. 1 for their first Big 12 victory on the season.
The victory marked the first win against WVU since Nov. 19, 2020, and the first sweep since Nov. 22, 2019, which was held in McCasland. Under coach Gray-Walton, OU is now 6-3 overall against WVU.
Wilson led the offense with her seventh-straight match in double-digit kills – 13 kills on a .370 clip with just three errors. For the third time this season, Wilson posted a career-high five service aces, which moved her to 35 aces on the season, putting her third in the record books.
Chamberlain added 31 assists and six digs, while Kemohah led the defense with nine digs.

BIG 12 WEEKLY AWARDS SWEEP-STAKES

For the first time in program history, Oklahoma volleyball swept the Big 12's weekly awards on Sept. 20
Wilson was named Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. She leads the Sooners with 206 kills and is fourth in the conference in kills per set (3.75), as well as leading OU and the conference in aces per set (0.67) and total aces (37). Wilson is third in program history for total aces (37) in a season. She also sits in second with 4.83 points per set and 265.5 total points in the Big 12.
Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 20) was awarded to Kemohah, marking her first this season and third of her career. The Lucas, Texas native currently leads the conference and the Power Five with 4.86 digs per set. She also sits second in the Big 12 in total digs (272) and posted 21 digs over last week to lead the Sooners.
Perkins locked in her first weekly honor for Rookie of the Week on Sept. 20 after earning her first career double-double with career-highs in kills (10) and blocks (11) against Texas Southern on Sept. 16.
OU is the fifth Big 12 school to sweep all three awards and first since Sept. 23, 2019, where Baylor took home every honor. This also marks the seventh time in conference history that weekly conference awards were swept by a single school.
In addition, just six times has OU won multiple awards in the same week, and two of those came last season.

SCOUTING TEXAS TECH

The Red Raiders are one of seven Big 12 schools ranked in the top 100 of the NCAA Women's Volleyball RPI rankings at No. 61. Texas Tech enters Wednesday's match 13-4 overall with a 2-2 mark in conference play.
Texas Tech is looking to bounce back after falling to TCU last Saturday in four sets, 3-1 (24-26, 24-26, 25-22, 27-29) at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. A pair of fifth-year seniors hit major milestones in the match as Brooke Kanas eclipsed over 1,000 kills with her 14 slams and now sits at 10th all-time in program history with 1,007 kills, while Karrington Jones reached over 300 career blocks with 305 after posting seven on the night.
About a week ago, Texas Tech hosted the top-ranked Longhorns in front of 6,037 fans on Oct. 2, which set a program record crowd.
The Red Raiders squad leads the conference with 954 digs and 15.14 digs per set. They are also second in assists per set (12.43), total assists (783), kills per set (13.52) and total kills (852).
Three Texas Tech players sit in the top three of four major statistical categories. Senior Kenna Sauer leads the Big 12 with 253 kills and 281 points, while second in kills per set (4.15) and third in points per set (4.61). Junior setter Reese Rhodes ranks second with 10.70 assists per set and 642 assists. Sitting behind Wilson, Texas Tech junior Maddie O'Brien ranks second in service aces per set (0.53) and total service aces (31).
Sophomore libero Maddie Correa was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 6. She totaled 66 digs (4.71 per set) during the second week on the season, while adding 18 assists and five aces to earn her first conference accolade. Correa currently sits fifth in the conference in digs per set (3.68).

SCOUTING IOWA STATE

The Cyclones are one of seven Big 12 schools ranked in the top 100 of the NCAA Women's Volleyball RPI rankings at No. 44. Iowa State is currently 10-7 overall with a 2-2 mark in conference play.
Iowa State took down Kansas in four sets, 3-1 (25-18, 21-25, 25-23, 25-23) last Friday night in Ames, Iowa. Three Cyclones notched double-doubles en route to their 10th victory on the season - senior Eleanor Holthaus (11 kills, 10 digs), and setters Jaden Newsome (20 assists, 10 digs) and Morgan Brandt (27 assists, 10 digs).
On Sept. 28, the Cyclones secured its first top-25 win since 2018 when they took down then-No. 13 Baylor in four sets. It was also Iowa State's first ranked win at home since 2017 and its first victory over the Bears since 2016. Holthaus posted 20 kills to reach over 1,300 career kills with 1,313, becoming just the sixth Cyclone in program history to do so.
Holthaus was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 13, which is the second overall in the offensive category. She earned the award after leading the Cyclones to an undefeated 3-0 for the third week on the season, which included a 3-1 victory over Cy-Hawk rival and Big Ten foe, Iowa, in front of the third-largest volleyball crowd in the history of Hilton Coliseum (5,015). After that week, the three-time All-Big 12 First Team honoree moved into sixth-place in Cyclone history for career kills (1,248) and seventh in school history with 63 career 10+ kill matches. Currently, Holthaus is tied for third in total kills with 216, while sitting in ninth with 3.13 kills per set and 10th with 3.54 points per set.

QUICK HITTERS

OU's 10-2 non-conference record marks their best non-conference start since 2013, along with the Gray-Walton era.
Eight of OU's regular season opponents earned berths in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, including seven conference foes - No. 1 Texas, No. 18 Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Texas Tech and West Virginia. The Longhorns reached the Elite Eight while the Jayhawks and Bears each advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.
OU will host every Big 12 team (eight) at home in 2022, including its regular season and Senior night against TCU on Nov. 26.

NEXT SERVE

The Sooners will return to McCasland Field House to host Kansas State next Wednesday, Oct. 19, before heading on the road for their fifth trip to the Lone Star State where they face TCU next Friday, Oct. 21, in Fort Worth, Texas.

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Texas Tech and Iowa State Up Next for OU Volleyball