Sooners Welcome No. 10 Cougars to Norman

NORMAN – For the second weekend in a row, the Sooners will play host to a new Big 12 opponent with No. 10 BYU making the trek to Norman. This will be just the Cougars second trip to Norman, the first coming back in 1996. OU and BYU have met just seven times in program history with BYU holding a 6-1 advantage.

Saturday's match will be Fan Appreciation Day and admission is free for all attendees. The team will sign autographs immediately following the match.

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

Date: Saturday, Oct. 5
Time: 2 p.m. CT
Opponent: No. 10 BYU
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: Statbroadcast

LAST TIME OUT
The Sooners traveled to Orlando, Fla., to take on UCF in a pair of matches. The Knights swept the season series with a three-set win on Thursday and a four-set win on Friday. Despite the loss, the second matchup of the weekend saw a strong performance from the Sooners as Alexis Shelton led all players with 20 kills on the night, filling the stat sheet with eight digs, three blocks and one assist.

Lydia Burts also stuffed her stat sheet with five kills, five digs and six blocks, including three solo. Hannah Pfiffner tied her career high with 10 kills on a .421 clip.

Payton Chamberlain tallied her fifth double-double of the season with 44 assists and 10 digs. Callie Kemohah recorded a season-high 17 digs to go with two assists and a service ace. Mele Corral-Blagojevich added 10 digs of her own and one service ace.

HOME SWEET HOME
With 13 matches played in 2023, the Sooners have only played four at home. Beginning with the BYU match, OU will play five of their next six matches inside the friendly confines of McCasland Field House. After Oct. 24, the Sooners will have just three more home matches while having six on the road.

just that. Of the five Sooners who have played in every set this year, three are underclassmen in sophomores Alexis Shelton and Taylor Preston and freshman Mele Corral-Blagojevich.

Shelton and Preston have controlled the offense for the Sooners in 2023, ranking first and second, respectively, in kills per set and total kills. Shelton also ranks third in total digs while Preston ranks third in total blocks. Corral-Blagojevich is tied for the team lead with 11 service aces and fourth with 66 digs.

Freshman Hannah Pfiffner has also appeared in all but one match, recording 79 kills and 20 total blocks. Sophomore Syndey Thompson has made an appearance in 38 sets and has recorded 38 digs and 10 service aces.

WE DIG IT
Junior libero Callie Kemohah reached a major milestone on Sept. 15 against UCLA. Kemohah notched 1,000 dig and now sits at 1,056 digs in her career. Kemohah now ranks 14^th all-time in OU history and could find herself in the top five by the end of the season. The junior needs just 92 to break into the top 10 and 252 to make the top five.

QUICK HITTERS

The last time Oklahoma beat Texas was on Oct. 25, 2014, in a 3-0 sweep in Austin, Texas. Texas currently leads the all-time series 61-4 and enters Friday's match on a 15-game winning streak against the Sooners.
The Sooners still have one non-conference matchup left on the schedule. OU will take a break from conference play for a midweek match against Tulsa in late October.
Eight of OU's regular season opponents earned berths to the 2022 NCAA Tournament, including Texas, Ball State, Houston, UCF, Iowa State, BYU, TCU and Baylor. Texas was crowned the national champion, while Houston and Baylor made it to the regional semifinals

THE OPPOSITION
BYU is 13-3 on the year with a 2-2 record in Big 12 play. The Cougars are coming off back-to-back losses to No. 9 Texas but have conference wins over No. 20 Houston and No. 18 Baylor. BYU ranks seventh nationally in both blocks per set (2.91) and opponent hitting percentage (.145), and eighth in total blocks (163). The Cougars lead the Big 12 in opponent hitting percentage and are second in total blocks and total service aces (89).

Outside hitter Erin Livingston leads BYU with 208 kills on the year. Middle blocker Whitney McEwan-Llarenas is second, with 110. Libero Kamaile Hiapo paces the Cougars with 191 digs, averaging 3.41 per set. Whitney Bower has 126 and libero Aria McComber has 91.

FOLLOW THE SOONERS

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UP NEXT

The Sooners have a quick turnaround with a midweek conference matchup against TCU Wednesday, Oct. 11. That match is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT inside McCasland Field House. OU will then travel to Kansas for a Saturday matinee on October 14.