Round Two with No. 13 Baylor and Kansas This Week

NORMAN – The Sooners look to return to the comfort of their home inside McCasland Field House to host No. 13 Baylor at 6 p.m. CT Wednesday before heading to the Sunflower State to face Kansas at 3 p.m. Sunday in Lawrence.

OU has a 6-3 home record and 3-4 for away matches, while looking to earn its first conference win on the road this season.

"The start to conference play isn't how we as a team or staff would have wanted to draw it up after such a great start to the season," head coach Lindsey Gray-Walton said. "However, if we fully embrace the pillar of a relentless pursuit mindset, and turn the page to look ahead, we have a lot of opportunity left in the final stretch of conference play."

Wednesday's match serves as OU volleyball's 'Unity Match.' The team will debut its new alternate uniform, designed by a group of OU student-athletes to emphasize the importance of togetherness and building relationships to better society. OU's other varsity sports are slated to wear "Unity" uniforms during their seasons this academic year. We will also be having McKinley Elementary School night where elementary school students and their families will be admitted at a discount rate and fans will receive a tie dye shirt while supplies last.

For fans in attendance, doors at McCasland Field House open an hour before the 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.

Season and single-match tickets are on sale for the 2022 season. Fans can purchase online through SoonerSports.com or by calling the OU ticket office at (405) 325-2424. Adults are $7 and youth/senior tickets are $5.

The Sooners lead the overall series with the Bears 39-28, while having a 22-10 record at home. Baylor has been on a 13-match win streak against the Sooners with OU's last win and sweep against the Bears on Nov. 15, 2015, in Waco. OU's last win in McCasland against Baylor was on Oct. 3, 2015, with a 3-1 victory, while their last home sweep against the Bears was on Nov. 16, 2013.

OU leads the overall series with the Jayhawks 54-42, along with 18-24 on the road. The Sooners won in Lawrence last season after a thrilling 3-2 victory but are looking for their first sweep against Kansas since Oct. 17, 2020, and first sweep on the road since Nov. 2, 2019. Under head coach Lindsey Gray-Walton, OU has a 6-3 record against the Jayhawks, including 3-1 on the road.

Wednesday'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 this week's home match, click here. The Sooners return are back on the national stage Sunday at 3 p.m. on ESPNU, with live stats available through Kansas' StatBroadcast page.

"We fight in November for a chance in December," Gray-Walton noted. "We are a scary team when we believe in ourselves. The home court and healthy starters are crucial in the second swing. We will settle into a lineup that aligns with the pillars of development, heart and hustle when we step in between the lines to finish it out."

BIG 12 STORYLINES

LAST TIME OUT

The Sooners dropped another pair of conference matches last week, a five-set marathon against Kansas State (3-2) last Wednesday and 3-1 road loss at TCU last Friday.
During Wednesday's loss against the Wildcats, graduate student Savannah Davison and sophomore Payton Chamberlain both recorded double-doubles for the Sooners. Davison posted her first of the year with season-highs in both kills (17) and digs (10), while Chamberlain earned her second this year with season-highs in assists (44) and digs (19).
In Friday's loss, sophomore Megan Wilson and freshman Alexis Shelton led the Sooners offense, notching 14 and 10 kills, respectively. Defensively, sophomore libero Callie Kemohah led the way with 14 digs, while graduate student Adria Oliver led in blocks with five.

BATTLING IN THE BIG 12

As a team, OU is third in service aces per set (1.47) and tied for third with total service aces with upcoming Big 12 foe, No. 13 Baylor. The Sooners are also fourth with a .252 hitting percentage and 2.55 blocks per set.
Multiple Sooners hold top-10 rankings in the current conference standings for all of the major statistical categories. Wilson leads the Big 12 in service aces per set (0.53) and total service aces (37). She also ranks second in the league with 4.59 points per set and 321 points, while seventh in the league with 3.61 kills per set.
Kemohah tops the conference in digs per set (4.64) and is second with 339 total digs. Morgan Perkins is the top freshman in blocks per set (1.25), hitting percentage (.415) and total blocks (85). Perkins is third in both blocks per set and hitting percentage. Chamberlain ranks fourth with 9.40 assists per set.
In conference games only, Perkins sits in third with a .434 hitting percentage, while Wilson is fourth in the league with 3.93 points per set, seventh with 3.24 kills per set and eighth with .0.31 aces per set.

Chamberlain's 8.74 assists per set ranks sixth in conference play, while Kemohah sits in third for 119 total digs and fifth in digs per set (3.82). The sophomore libero was also first over last week with eight service aces (a career-high of seven came last Wednesday against Kansas State).

SETTING THE RECORD BOOK STRAIGHT

The 2022 team has already etched their name eight 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 sitting in third for aces in 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 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). Currently, she is also second in hitting percentage for a single season with .415 and seventh in blocks per set with 1.25.

SEEING DOUBLE

Four Sooners have notched double-doubles for the 2022 season with two doing it twice this season.
Freshman Taylor Preston posted the first career double-double for the Sooners this season after 11 kills and 10 digs against Ball State at the LUV Invitational in Nashville, Tennessee on Sept. 2. The following weekend, she notched her second double-double of the season with 19 kills and 11 digs at the Santa Clara Invitational against Fresno State in California on Sept. 11.
Perkins posted her first career double-double with 11 blocks and 10 kills against Texas Southern on Sept. 16 to close out the non-conference slate.
Davison and Chamberlain both recorded double-doubles the fifth and sixth Sooner double-doubles on the season against Kansas State last Wednesday. Davison posted her first of the year with season-highs in both kills (17) and digs (10), while Chamberlain earned her fifth career double-double with season-highs in assists (44) and digs (19).

WONDERFUL WILSON

Wilson has come out swinging in her sophomore campaign and ranks 18th in aces per set (0.53) and 25th with 37 total service aces. She is the only Big 12 player in the top 25 in both categories.
Wilson leads the team with 238 kills (3.66 per set) and 37 service aces (0.57 per set) in 2021. The sophomore has notched double-digit kills in all but three matches this year with a season-high of 19 against Iowa (Aug. 27).
The Texas native has tallied at least 15 kills in six matches, while also hitting five career-highs this season - service aces (five, three times), digs (nine), blocks (seven), block assists (seven) and hitting percentage (.500).
Wilson holds the top spot in the league in points in a three-set match with 22.5 vs. Iowa on Aug. 27.

SCOUTING NO. 13 BAYLOR

The Bears are one of two Big 12 teams that remain ranked in the AVCA Division I Coaches Poll at No. 13. Baylor is one of seven Big 12 schools ranked in the top 100 of the NCAA Women's Volleyball RPI rankings at No. 20. Baylor is 17-4 overall and 6-2 in conference play, which ties them for second with Iowa State in the Big 12.
About two weeks ago, fifth-year senior Mallory Talbert had three aces, the most posted in the green and gold, in Baylor's sweep against then No. 22 Rice in Houston on Oct. 12. The Bears also had the third-largest crowd in program history for the match against then No. 1 Texas with 5,604 fans on Oct. 15.
The Bears squad sits in the top-three in five of the seven major categories. Baylor is second with .269 hitting percentage, 12.26 assists per set, 13.61 kills per set. The Bears are also third in blocks per set (2.63), total kills (1,048), total assists (944) and total service aces (106). Baylor is top 25 nationally in blocks per set and hitting percentage at No. 19 and No. 22, respectively.
Baylor has the blocks leader in the Big 12 as senior Kara McGhee leads the league with 1.57 blocks per set and 121 total blocks (including 110 block assists). Fifth-year senior Mallory Talbert sits in second with a .419 hitting percentage, while K. McGhee sits fourth with a .398 clip. The Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year, Averi Carlson, is first with 820 total assists and second with 10.65 assists per set.
On the national scene, K. McGhee is third in blocks per set, fifth in total blocks, and 25th in hitting percentage. Talbert is eighth in the nation in hitting percentage, while Carlson is 25th in total assists.
K. McGhee earned her sixth career Big 12 weekly honor (five defensive, one offensive) and first this season after being named Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 11. The senior had the second double-double of her career with 10 kills and 10 blocks against the Mountaineers on Oct. 8.

SCOUTING KANSAS

The Jayhawks are one of seven Big 12 schools ranked in the top 100 of the NCAA Women's Volleyball RPI rankings at No. 21. Kansas is currently 15-5 overall with a 5-3 mark in conference play, which ties for fourth overall in the Big 12.
Kansas is coming off a weekend where they topped West Virginia, 3-1, in Morgantown for their third-straight win. The offense shined for the Jayhawks, led by sophomore Caroline Bien, who hit .310 with 17 kills, and super-senior Anezka Szabo, who added 10 kills, while hitting .227.
On Oct. 15, redshirt freshman Ayah Elnady set the school record for service aces in a five-set match, tallying seven aces in the 3-2 win over Texas Tech.
The Jayhawks squad leads the conference with 2.77 blocks per set, while also sitting in third in hitting percentage (.268), total blocks (205) and digs per set (13.80. Kansas ranks in the top 20 nationally in three major categories - blocks per set (10th), hitting percentage (23rd) and total blocks (30th).
Six Kansas players sit in the top 10 of six of seven major statistical categories. Graduate student Lauren Dooley leads the conference in solo blocks with 14, while fifth with a .388 hitting percentage. Elnady is currently fourth in service aces per set (0.44).

QUICK HITTERS

OU's 10-2 non-conference record marks their best non-conference start since 2013, along with the Gray-Walton era.
The Sooners are 189-293 all-time in Big 12 play and 11-16 all-time in conference openers. Under Gray-Walton, OU is 28-37 in Big 12 play and 2-3 in league openers.
Eight of OU's regular season opponents earned berths in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, including seven conference foes - No. 2 Texas, No. 13 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 kick off the month of November on the road in Morgantown, West Virginia, to face the Mountaineers next Saturday, Nov. 5.

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Round Two with No. 13 Baylor and Kansas This Week