Sooners Beat Gonzaga, Purdue Fort Wayne to Open Mansfield Era

Friday, August 25

Muncie, Ind.

10 a.m.

University of Oklahoma

1-0,0-0Big 12

Gonzaga

0-1,0-0WCC

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Gonzaga	11	18	20	0
Oklahoma	25	25	25	3

Sooners Beat Gonzaga, Purdue Fort Wayne to Open Mansfield Era

August 25, 2023 | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 G1 Stats (PDF)G2 Stats (PDF)

MUNCIE, Ind. – Oklahoma volleyball earned a pair of victories on the first day of the Ball State Invitational, sweeping Gonzaga (25-11, 25-18, 25-20) and earning a four-set victory over Purdue Fort Wayne (25-21, 20-25, 27-25, 25-16) on Friday.

The Sooners opened the day against the Bulldogs and earned Oklahoma head volleyball coach Aaron Mansfield his first victory in the Crimson and Cream.

OU completed the day with a tough battle against PFW. The two programs split the first two sets with the Sooners earning the 25-21 victory to open play. Despite being down late in the third set, Oklahoma swung the momentum in its favor with a 27-25 victory. OU dominated the fourth set, stringing together multiple runs en route to a 25-16 win.

Mansfield on today's performance
"Playing two matches in a day is physically and mentally demanding, and we met the challenge head-on," said Mansfield. "I'm really proud of how our group competed today and collectively stuck together. We are looking forward to recovering and playing a very good Ball State team."

Oklahoma 3, Gonzaga 0
The Sooners opened the 2023 season with a dominant display against Gonzaga, beating the Bulldogs 25-11 in the opening set and cruising to a three-set sweep.

In the first set, Oklahoma raced out to a 10-6 advantage. Junior setter Payton Chamberlain served the next 10 possessions, extending the Sooners lead to 19-6. OU cruised to the opening victory and freshman middle blocker Hannah Pfiffner tallied the final two points.

Down 10-9 in the second set, OU put together a 7-1 run to take a 16-11 advantage and Gonzaga never recovered. The Sooners maintained their advantage for the remainder of the set, earning the set victory on a service error by GU's Jody Smith.

With its back against the wall, Gonzaga put together its toughest performance of the match in the third set. GU tied the score at 16-all on an Oklahoma attack error. After a Bulldog service error, Chamberlain earned the kill, giving the Sooners a two-point edge at 18-16.

Gonzaga pulled back within one after an OU service error and the Sooners quickly responded behind a kill by Pfiffner. Gonzaga narrowed the OU advantage to one on a blocking error.

Sophomore outside hitter Alexis Shelton tallied the kill, giving Oklahoma the 20-18 edge. OU recorded five of the last seven points and won the match on a kill by senior middle Lydia Burts.

Shelton led the Sooners with nine kills on 15 attempts, recording a .643 attack percentage. Chamberlain dished out a team-best 32 assists.

Oklahoma 3, Purdue Fort Wayne 1

Oklahoma earned its second victory of the day against Purdue Fort Wayne, beating the Mastodons in four sets and improving to 2-0. Shelton recorded a double-double, finishing with a team-best 20 kills and adding 11 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Taylor Preston and Burts added 11 kills. Senior libero Callie Kemohah recorded a team-best 13 digs and Chamberlain handed out 46 assists.

Similar to its opening match, the Sooners claimed the first set, beating PFW 25-21. The two programs traded points until OU recorded a three-point swing behind kills by sophomore outside Taylor Preston, Burts and a Mastodon attack error, giving the Sooners a 12-9 edge. OU pushed its lead to 16-11 after an ace by freshman outside hitter Mele Corral-Blagojevich. Purdue Fort Wayne's Panna Ratkai recorded an ace, bringing the tally to 23-20. OU won two of the final three points behind kills by Burts and Preston.

Oklahoma dropped its lone set of the day in the second frame, falling 25-20 to the Mastodons. Down 10-7, Purdue Fort Wayne won seven of the next eight points and commanded the remainder of the match. Oklahoma narrowed the deficit down to 19-16 after a kill by Shelton and again to 23-20 after an ace by Chamberlain. PFW tallied the final two points on a kill by Iris Riegel and an ace by Ratkai.

The Sooners and Mastodons continued their battle in the third set. With the score knotted at 19-all after a kill by Burts, the two programs swapped service errors. PFW briefly captured the lead at 21-20 after a kill by Ashby Willis and the Sooners responded with a kill by junior outside hitter Daleigh Ellison.

PFW needed one point to clinch the set after an ace by Becky Barrett. A timely OU timeout helped push momentum back in OU's favor. Shelton recorded a kill out of the break and duplicated the task after a PFW timeout. The Sooners won five of the final six points, capturing the set 27-26 and taking a 2-1 set advantage.

OU dominated the final set, earning the 25-16 win and its second victory of the day. A block by Pfiffner handed the Sooners an 11-10 edge and Oklahoma scored the next six points.

Purdue Fort Wayne narrowed the gap to five after an OU error and the Sooners responded, pushing their lead to 23-16 after consecutive errors by the Mastodons. OU concluded its first day and the second match with Shelton's 20th kill.

UP NEXT
Oklahoma will conclude the Ball State Invitational on Saturday, Aug. 26 at noon CT against tournament host Ball State. The match will be available on ESPN+.