Sooners Headed to Sunshine State to Face UCF

NORMAN – Big 12 volleyball action is in full swing, and the Oklahoma volleyball team is set to face a new conference opponent this weekend with a pair of matches at the University of Central Florida.

OU and UCF will face off as conference foes for the first and only time Thursday and Friday. The teams have only met three times prior, with the most recent meeting being in 1981.

Date: Thursday, Sept. 28
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Opponent: UCF
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: Statbroadcast

Date: Friday, Sept. 29
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Opponent: UCF
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: Statbroadcast

LAST TIME OUT
The Sooners opened Big 12 play with No. 9 Texas inside McCasland Field House, dropping both matches to the highly ranked Longhorns. The Longhorns swept both matches in the opening weekend of conference action. OU kept it competitive in the first meeting, dropping the match 28-26, 25-18, 30-28. The Sooners had the advantage over Texas in multiple categories including kills (47-44), assists (44-42) and digs (40-35).

ROAD WARRIORS
The Sooners spent the first three weeks of the season away from the friendly confines of McCasland Field House. This is the first time since 2018 that the Sooners spent three weeks on the road to open the season. After two weekends at home, the Sooners will hit the road once again for the first conference road trip of the season at UCF. OU will spend more than half their season away from Norman with 16 road matches on the schedule. The Sooners are currently 5-2 in away matches and 1-2 in true road games.

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 third in total digs while Preston ranks fourth in total blocks. Corral-Blagojevich ranks second on the team with eight service aces and fourth with 55 digs. Freshman Hannah Pfiffner has also appeared in all but one match, recording 66 kills and 19 total blocks. Sophomore Syndey Thompson has made an appearance in 25 sets and leads the team with 10 service aces and has tallied 37 digs.

BATTLING IN THE BIG 12
The Sooners currently rank fourth in the league in kills with 13.76/set. OU also ranks third in assists (12.59/set) and fifth in hitting percentage (.255). Individually, Alexis Shelton ranks fourth in the conference with 4.22 kills per set and Taylor Preston is ninth with 3.41/set. The Sooners are the only team with two players in the top 10. Payton Chamberlain's 10.46 assists per set are good for fourth in the league. Lydia Burts ranks 10th in hitting percentage with a .337 mark and 10th in blocks with 1.17/set.

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
UCF is 11-2 on the season and is coming off a two-game sweep of Cincinnati to open conference play. In the season series, the Knights allowed just one set to the Bearcats. The Knights only two losses came in a five-set match to Wake Forest and a 3-0 sweep to then No. 17 Purdue. UCF is led by a trio of outside-hitters who have all recorded over 115 kills on the year. Emily Wilson leads the team with 151 total kills and a 3.15 kills/set mark. Avah Armour has notched 129 kills and Abby Hansen boasts 115. Defensively, the Knights have three athletes with over 100 digs in Wilson, Chloe Scheer and Abby Schomers. UCF has also tallied 80.0 total 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 return to McCasland Field House for a Saturday matinee with new conference opponent BYU. OU and BYU will take to the court at 2 p.m. CT on Oct. 7. Admission to that match is free in honor of Fan Appreciation Day.