Sooners Welcome No. 22 Houston to Norman

NORMAN – After a three-match road swing that saw the Sooners away from Norman for 15 days, the Oklahoma volleyball team is returning to the court for a pair of matches against No.22 Houston Thursday and Friday. Both matches are set to start at 6 p.m. CT.

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

Date: Thursday, Nov. 9
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Opponent: No. 22 Houston
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: Statbroadcast

Date: Friday, Nov. 10
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Opponent: No. 22 Houston
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: Statbroadcast

LAST TIME OUT
The Sooners battled tough in a five-set match against No. 21 Baylor, falling 14-25, 19-25, 25-20, 25-23, 12-15 last Wednesday. Down 2-0 in the match, the Sooners battled back to force a fifth and final set. The Sooners used a 4-0 run to tie the fifth set at 8-8, but ultimately dropped the set 15-12. Alexis Shelton recorded her second-straight game with 20 kills to lead the offense. Taylor Preston added in 14 while Hannah Pfiffner set a new career-high with 12. Payton Chamberlain notched 52 assists on the night and recorded a double-double with 10 digs. The junior setter also tallied three kills and three blocks. Callie Kemohah led the way defensively with 13 digs. Mele Corral-Blagojevich added 12 and Sydney Thompson recorded 10.

HOME SWEET HOME
With 22 matches played in 2023, the Sooners have only played nine at home. The Sooners will play just three more matches inside McCasland Field House in 2023: two games against Houston this weekend and the season finale on Nov. 25 against West Virginia.

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. Junior libero Callie Kemohah reached a major milestone on Sept. 15 against UCLA. Kemohah notched 1,000 digs and sits at 1,184 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 124 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 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 fourth in total digs while Preston ranks fourth in total blocks. Corral-Blagojevich leads the team with 23 service aces and is third with 142 digs. Freshman Hannah Pfiffner has also appeared in all but two matches, recording 114 kills and 44 total blocks. Sophomore Syndey Thompson has made an appearance in 73 sets and has recorded 91 digs and 22 service aces.

BLOCKING BURTS
Lydia Burts has made a huge impact on the Sooners defense, leading the team with 92.0 total blocks on the season, 41 more than the next closest player. Burts has recorded at least five blocks in eight matches this season, including a season-best 9.0 in the season opener. Burts has recorded six blocks or more in five matches, including 7.0 against BYU. Burts has 15 solo blocks on the season with a season high four against UCF.

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

Houston is 14-7 on the year and 7-5 in conference action heading into Thursday's match. After starting Big 12 Play 2-5, the Cougars have won five-straight matches and given up just one set in those five matches. The Cougars are led offensively by Abbie Jackon's 258 kills and Kenna Sauer's 236. Five players have recorded 100 kills for the Cougars on the season. Annie Cooke boasts 417 assists, while Morgan Janda has tallied 364. Defensively, Kate Georgiades has tallied 333 digs, while Kellen Morin has notched 94.0 blocks.

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 travel to Cincinnati for a pair of matches Nov. 17-18 before heading to Texas Tech on Nov. 22 for the final three road matches of the season.

Sooners Welcome No. 22 Houston to Norman

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Players Mentioned

Payton Chamberlain

Mele Corral-Blagojevich

Callie Kemohah

Lydia Martyn

Hannah Pfiffner

Taylor Preston

Alexis Shelton

Sydney Thompson

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University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Welcome No. 22 Houston to Norman

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Payton Chamberlain

Mele Corral-Blagojevich

Callie Kemohah

Lydia Martyn

Hannah Pfiffner

Taylor Preston

Alexis Shelton

Sydney Thompson

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