Big 12 Play Returns Home With Texas Tech and No. 1 Texas

NORMAN – The conference slate continues for Oklahoma volleyball with its return to McCasland Field House for a pair of 6 p.m. CT conference matchups, including a rematch with Texas Tech on Wednesday, followed by round two of the Red River Rivalry against top-ranked Texas on Saturday.

"We said at the beginning, this group has an opportunity to be special, but first we have to commit to the process," head coach Lindsey Gray-Walton said. "In these last two weeks, we have seen a deeper investment and intention in the little things, and we've seen great results within those well stacked days."

OU is riding a two-match conference winning streak for the first time since October 2020, while holding a 6-4 home record. Saturday's match against the Longhorns will offer a free giveaway of OU volleyball coolers 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 Red Raiders 42-39, while having a 23-14 record at home. Last month, OU dropped a four-set match to the Red Raiders 3-1 in Lubbock. OU is looking for its first sweep against the Red Raiders since October 4, 2017. Under head coach Lindsey Gray-Walton, OU has a 5-4 record against Texas Tech.

"It's exciting to see the maturity within, truly becoming a player lead team," Gray-Walton noted. "Making the changes internally to yield the desired external results. Wednesday against Texas Tech, it's no different. We have a home Opportunity and we're ready to compete hard every moment."

The last time Oklahoma beat Texas was Oct. 25, 2014, for a 3-0 sweep in Austin. It was also the last time the Sooners defeated a ranked opponent on the road. OU is looking for its first home win against the Longhorns since Sept. 28, 2011, where they won in five sets, 3-2. The last time the Sooners defeated a ranked opponent inside McCasland was Sept. 27, 2014, against then-No. 23 Kansas in five sets, 3-2.

For both matches, live stats will be available through OU's StatBroadcast page and can be viewed at 6 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday on SoonerVision on ESPN+. For more information on how to watch this week's home match, click here.

"The league of liberos is extremely talented, and Callie (Kemohah) continues to lead the way," Gray-Walton said. We've continued to challenge her range and communication level, truly giving her the green light, and she's playing really free right now. That type of consistency you can rely on allows for us to be in every match, which we have. Now we're fighting to finish, which is the next step in that learning to win 'process' for this team. "

BIG 12 STORYLINES

BACK-TO-BACK

The Sooners went back-to-back in conference wins for the first time since October 16-17, 2020, after it swept West Virginia, 3-0, last Saturday in Morgantown. The Sooners are now 13-10 overall and 5-4 on the road this season
The victory also marked OU's first win in Morgantown since Sept. 28, 2019, and first road sweep against the Mountaineers in the WVU Coliseum since Nov. 17, 2018. It also marked the first time since OU posted consecutive road conference wins since the beginning of the Gray-Walton Era in 2018.
OU leads the overall series with West Virginia 19-4, including 8-3 on the road.
Sophomore Megan Wilson and freshman Alexis Shelton led the offense with 11 kills each. Shelton had an impressive .500 clip with only two errors, which put her as the best freshman in the conference last week in hitting percentage (0.500) and second overall. Wilson posted a .348 hitting percentage with only three errors and had five digs.
Last week's Big 12 Rookie of the Week, Taylor Preston, chipped in 10 kills, five digs and four blocks. Sophomore Payton Chamberlain added 34 assists, while graduate student Adria Oliver led the Sooners with six blocks, just one off her season-high in that category.

TWICE AS NICE

Sophomore libero Callie Kemohah was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week Tuesday afternoon for the fourth time in her career.
She is the second Sooner in 2022 to earn at least two weekly conference honors this season, joining fellow Sooner, Wilson, to accomplish this feat.
Kemohah continues to power the OU defense from the back row and currently leads the conference and OU this season in digs per set (4.66), while topping the Sooners and sitting in third for total digs (396) in the Big 12.
In another great defensive performance last weekend, Kemohah posted a conference-best 23 digs in a three-set match in the Sooners' victory against West Virginia. She also topped the Big 12 last week with 7.67 digs per set.
For conference only matches, Kemohah is third in total digs (176) and fifth with 4.09 digs per set. She's also 10th with 0.30 service aces per set.

BATTLING IN THE BIG 12

As a team this season, OU is fourth in hitting percentage (.253), blocks per set (2.51) and service aces per set (1.44).
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 (0.54) and total service aces (44). She also ranks second in the league with 4.57 points per set and 374.5 points, while sixth in the league with 3.61 kills per set.
Kemohah, sophomore libero and the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, tops the conference in digs per set (4.66) and is third with 396 total digs.
Morgan Perkins is the top freshman in blocks per set (1.21), hitting percentage (.407) and total blocks (97). Perkins moved to second in hitting percentage and is third in blocks per set. Chamberlain ranks fourth with 9.69 assists per set.
In conference matches only, Wilson sits in second within the Big 12 with 0.39 service aces per set and tied for second in total service aces (16), fifth in points per set (4.09) and sixth with 3.34 kills per set. Perkins sits in second with a .411 hitting percentage, while sitting in 10th with 0.97 blocks per set.
Chamberlain's 9.35 assists per set ranks sixth in conference play, while Kemohah is third with 176 total digs and fifth in digs per set (4.09).

SETTING THE RECORD BOOK STRAIGHT

The 2022 team has already etched their name nine 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 second for aces in a single season with 44. 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 .407.
Kemohah has entered the chat, matching a career-best 23 aces per season. This is Kemohah's third mark in the record book after posting 436 digs and 23 aces during the 2021 season, sitting in ninth for both categories.

SEEING DOUBLE

Five Sooners have notched double-doubles for the 2022 season with two doing it twice this season.
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.
Graduate student Savannah Davison and Chamberlain both recorded double-doubles the fifth and sixth Sooner double-doubles on the season against Kansas State on Oct. 19. 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).
Wilson earned her first career double-double this season at Kansas with 16 kills and a career-high 16 digs on Oct. 30.

WONDERFUL WILSON

Wilson has come out swinging in her sophomore campaign and ranks 10th in aces per set (0.56) and 26th with 44 total service aces nationally. She is the only Big 12 player in the top 30 in both categories.
Wilson leads the team with 296 kills (3.61 per set) and 44 service aces (0.54 per set) in 2022. 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 nine matches, while also hitting five career-highs this season – service aces (five, three times), digs (12), blocks (seven), block assists (seven) and hitting percentage (.500).
Wilson shares the top spot in the league in points in a three-set match with 22.5 vs. Iowa on Aug. 27.

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. 56. Texas Tech enters Wednesday's match 14-10 overall with a 3-8 mark in conference play.
Texas Tech is looking to bounce back after a six-match losing streak with its last win being in Lubbock against the Sooners, 3-1, on Oct. 12.
Three Texas Tech players sit in the top three of four major statistical categories in the conference. Senior Kenna Sauer leads the Big 12 with 351 kills and 387.5 points, while second in kills per set (3.99) and third in points per set (4.40). Junior setter Reese Rhodes ranks second with 10.44 assists per set. Sitting behind Wilson, Texas Tech junior Maddie O'Brien ranks second in service aces per set (0.45) and total service aces (37).

SCOUTING NO. 1 TEXAS

No. 1 Texas enters this week 17-1 and 7-1 on the road with its only loss coming at Iowa State. The Longhorns have notched five ranked wins this year against then-No. 5 Minnesota, No. 7 Ohio State (twice), No. 12 Stanford and No. 18 Baylor. In the latest AVCA Coaches Poll, all four teams are ranked in the top 10.
Head coach Jerritt Elliott enters his 22nd season with the Longhorns, holding a 600-122 head coaching record, including 561-110 as the Texas head coach.
Ranked in the top spot in the AVCA Division I Coaches Poll for the preseason and 10 of 11 weeks in the season, the Longhorns also sit atop of the NCAA Division I Volleyball Committee's Top 10 teams and NCAA Women's Volleyball RPI rankings. For the NCAA DI Volleyball rankings, the Longhorns are the only Big 12 school represented and in the NCAA Women's Volleyball RPI, Texas is one of seven Big 12 schools ranked in the top 100.
As a team, Texas ranks in the top three of five of seven statistical categories in the league, including first in hitting percentage (.335), assists per set (13.65), and kills per set (14.51). Nationally, the Longhorns are in the top five in hitting percentage (first), assists per set (second), and fourth in kills per set and match W-L percentage (0.944).
With a veteran squad, three Texas players lead the conference in four major statistical categories. Redshirt senior Asjia O'Neal leads the Big 12 and the nation with a .481 hitting percentage, while also sixth in blocks per set (1.18) in the Big 12. Senior Logan Eggelston tops the conference in kills per set (4.45) and points per set (5.20), while also in the top 10 nationally (No. 9) in points per set. She's also third in aces per set (0.41) in the Big 12. Senior setter Saige Ka'aha'aina-Torres leads the conference in assists per set (11.42), while sixth nationally in that same category.

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 191-294 all-time in Big 12 play and 11-16 all-time in conference openers. Under Gray-Walton, OU is 30-36 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. 1 Texas, No. 10 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 visit the Little Apple for a mid-week match next Wednesday against Kansas State in Manhattan.

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Big 12 Play Returns Home With Texas Tech and No. 1 Texas