Volleyball Opens Home Slate with UCLA Friday

NORMAN – For the first time in 2023, the Oklahoma volleyball team will play inside the friendly confines of McCasland Field House, welcoming UCLA to Norman for a two-game series. The Sooners and Bruins will take to the court on Friday, Sept. 15, at 5 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 16 at 2 p.m. Both matches will be available to stream on ESPN+.

Friday's match against UCLA will be a White Out theme and the first 150 students will receive an OU Volleyball bucket hat. On Saturday, 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.

Season and single-match tickets are now on sale for the 2023 season. Fans can purchase online through SoonerSports.com or by calling the OU ticket office at (405) 325-2424.

Date: Friday, Sept. 15
Time: 5 p.m. CT
Opponent: UCLA
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: Statbroadcast

Date: Saturday, Sept. 16
Time: 2 p.m. CT
Opponent: UCLA
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: Statbroadcast

LAST TIME OUT
The Sooners wrapped up their non-conference road schedule with a pair of matches at the Irish Invitational in South Bend, Indiana. OU swept Illinois in the opening match of the tournament before falling to Notre Dame in a five-set thriller.

Against Illinois, Payton Chamberlain recorded her third double-double of the season with a 34 assist and 14 dig performance. Taylor Preston led the way with 15 kills on the day at a .457 clip. Alexis Shelton recorded her fifth-straight match with double digit kills (12).

The Sooners battled in a five-set loss to Notre Dame with Shelton dropping a career-high 30 kills. Chamberlain recorded a season high 51 assists and was just two digs shy of recording a double-double. OU led the Irish in every major category including kills (66-54), hitting percentage (.237 - .187), assists (60-48), digs (53-43, service aces (7-3) and blocks (11.5-9.0).

AMAZING ALEXIS
Sophomore Alexis Shelton has gotten off to a hot start in 2023, recording a pair of double-doubles and recording two matches of 25+ kills on the season. Against Notre Dame on Sept. 9, she notched a career-high 30 kills. Since recording just nine kills in the first match of the season, Shelton has tallied double-digit kills in every match and boasts three 20-plus kill performances. Her 4.73 kills per set leads the conference and her 30 kills against Notre Dame are the most by any Big 12 player in a match this season. Shelton also ranks eighth nationally in kills per set and is the only Big 12 athlete ranked in the top 20.

POWERFUL PRESTON
Sophomore Taylor Preston has had a strong start to her second season as a Sooner, recording five matches with double-digit kills, including a career-high 23 on Sept. 2. Preston has recorded at least 15 kills in her last three matches and recorded a season best .467 hitting percentage against Notre Dame. Her 23 kills against Boise State is the eighth most by a Big 12 player this season.

AROUND THE BIG 12
The Sooners currently rank first in the conference in kills, averaging 14.38 per set. OU also ranks second in the conference in hitting percentage (.285), behind only UCF (.327) and third in assists (3^rd – 13.23/set). Individually, Alexis Shelton leads the conference with 4.73 kills per set and fifth with 123 total kills. Payton Chamberlain's 10.96 assists per set are good for third in the league, while her 285 total assists ranks fifth.

QUICK HITTERS

This will be just the second meeting between Oklahoma and UCLA in program history. UCLA won the lone meeting between the two teams in Honolulu, Hawaii in 2006.
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
UCLA is currently 7-1 under first year head coach Alfree Reft. The Bruins most recently were crowned the Outrigger Volleyball Challenge Champions after sweeping the field of Hawaii, Liberty and Pepperdine. UCLA gave up just three sets across the three matches. The lone blemish on the Bruins schedule is a five-set opening day loss to LSU.

Iman Ndiaye leads the Bruins with 3.36 kills/set and 111 total kills across 33 sets. Ashely Mullen has recorded 204 assists at a 7.02 assists/set mark. On defense, Desiree Becker has 42.0 blocks and Peyton Dueck has 120 digs.

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 open conference play with the Red River Rivalry, welcoming No. 6 Texas to McCasland Field House for a two-game series. The Sooners and Longhorns will compete Sept. 22 and 23, with both matches scheduled for a 6 p.m. start time. Tickets can be purchased by visiting soonersports.com/tickets.