OU Set for Cincinnati Road Trip

NORMAN – The Sooners will embark on their final road swing of the season when they head to Cincinnati for a pair of conference matches, Nov. 17-18. This will be the first matchup between the two teams since 2011 and the first at either teams home court.

The matches will air on ESPN+ with Anthony Mazzini as play-by-play and Melissa Luckey and Stephanie Niemer as analysts.

Date: Friday, Nov. 17
Time: 5 p.m. CT
Opponent: Cincinnati
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: Statbroadcast

Date: Saturday, Nov. 18
Time: 5 p.m. CT
Opponent: Cincinnati
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: Statbroadcast

LAST TIME OUT
The Sooners dropped a pair of matches to No. 22 Houston inside McCasland Field House on Nov. 9 and 10. In the first match, OU was swept as Alexis Shelton recorded double-digit kills for the 19th time this season with 13 on the night, while Taylor Preston added seven. Payton Chamberlain recorded 23 assists to pace the offense. Callie Kemohah notched 10 digs and Sydney Thompson added seven.

In the second match, the Sooners were swept once again. Alexis Shelton notched her 20th game with double-digit kills, finishing with 10 on the night. Taylor Preston added six, while Kelsey Carrington, Hannah Pfiffner and Lydia Burts all tallied four. Payton Chamberlain notched 25 assists and 5 digs to go with a pair of blocks. Callie Kemohah chipped in 19 digs on the night.

MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
Junior Setter Payton Chamberlain reached a career milestone on Oct. 29 against Iowa State as she notched her 2,000^th career assist. Chamberlain finished the match with 38 to bring her career total to 2,035 with 1,554 of those coming at OU. Chamberlain currently ranks 11^th all-time in OU history with 1,657 assists (2,138 total).

Junior libero Callie Kemohah reached a major milestone on Sept. 15 against UCLA. Kemohah notched 1,000 digs and sits at 1,213 digs in her career. Kemohah now ranks 8^th all-time in OU history and could find herself close to the top five by the end of the season, needing just 95 to pass Sooner legend Keyton Kinley (1,308).

DOUBLE THE FUN
Payton Chamberlain has tallied seven double doubles this season. Most recently, the junior recorded a 52 assist, 10 dig double-double against No. 21 Baylor. Chamberlain has recorded a double-double against three conference opponents (Baylor, UCF, K-State).

Callie Kemohah recorded her first double-double of the season against Tulsa with a season-high 27 digs and 12 assists. Alexis Shelton has also recorded a pair of double-doubles against Purdue Fort Wayne and Ball State. Against Ball State, Shelton and Chamberlain both had double-doubles.

YOUNG AND HUNGRY
The underclassmen on the 2023 team have been called on to make an impact this season and have done just that. Of the three Sooners who have played in every set this year, two are underclassmen in sophomores Alexis Shelton and Taylor Preston.

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 fourth in total digs while Preston ranks fourth in total blocks. Freshman Mele Corral-Blagojevich leads the team with 23 service aces and is third with 142 digs in 86 sets played.

Freshman Hannah Pfiffner has also appeared in all but two matches, recording 120 kills and 47 total blocks. Sophomore Syndey Thompson has made an appearance in 79 sets and has recorded 104 digs and 22 service aces.

ONE LAST TIME
The 2023 season marks the final year in the Big 12 for the Sooners. Since the formation of the Big 12 in 1996, OU has compiled a 287-370 record. The Sooners had two top-two finishes in conference play in 2006 and 2014, along with third place finishes in 2010, 2013, 2018 and 2019.

The Sooners opened their final season of conference play with Texas who will be joining OU in the SEC beginning with the 2024 season.

QUICK HITTERS

The Sooners will face all four new conference opponents in 2023. OU will play a two-game series at UCF and Cincinnati, host Houston at home for two and face BYU at home once.
The Sooners play just three non-conference games at home in 2023. OU will host UCLA for a pair of matches in mid-September and 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
Cincinnati is 11-13 on the year and 4-10 in their first season in the Big 12. The Bearcats are coming off a loss to No. 3 Texas. Cincinnati is led offensively by Abby Walker and Zeta Washington with 209 and 202 kills, respectively. Six Bearcats have recorded at least 100 kills this year, with Jadyn Bauss boasting a 4.00 kills/set mark. Katelyn Lefler has paced the offense with 833 assists.

Defensively, Carly Skrabak leads the way with 356 digs, followed by Lefler with 231. Ligia Williams boasts 89.0 blocks to go with 132 kills.

FOLLOW THE SOONERS
For updates and more information on Oklahoma Volleyball, follow the Sooners on Twitter and Instagram (@OU_Volleyball) and like Oklahoma Volleyball on Facebook.

UP NEXT
The Sooners will wrap up the final week of the season with a road match at Texas Tech on Wednesday, Nov. 22 and a home match against West Virginia on Nov. 25.

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Players Mentioned

Kelsey Carrington

Payton Chamberlain

Mele Corral-Blagojevich

Callie Kemohah

Lydia Martyn

Hannah Pfiffner

Taylor Preston

Alexis Shelton

Sydney Thompson

Sponsors

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