Sooners on the Road for Pair of Matches

NORMAN – Oklahoma volleyball is set for a two-game road swing at Georgia and South Carolina this weekend. The Sooners will face Georgia on Friday at 6 p.m. CT, followed by a Sunday matinee at South Carolina at noon on SEC Network.

Date: Friday, Oct. 18
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Opponent: Georgia
Watch: SECN+
Live Stats: Statbroadcast

Date: Sunday, Oct. 20
Time: Noon CT
Opponent: South Carolina
Watch: SEC Network
Live Stats: Statbroadcast

LOOKING BACK
The Oklahoma volleyball team dropped a four-set match, 25-22, 22-25, 24-26, 22-25, to LSU last Friday night.

Alexis Shelton led the Sooners with her fourth 20-kill match of the season, recording 21 kills on a .359 clip. The junior also added six digs, four blocks and a service ace to her night. Kari Geissberger notched double-digit kills with 10 at a .375 clip, while Lydia Martyn was errorless on the evening with nine kills on a .629 clip. Payton Chamberlain tallied 43 assists to go with four blocks, while Callie Kemohah recorded a team-high 11 digs. Jasmine Ellison notched four service aces on the night as the Sooners recorded eight as a team.

MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
Senior setter Payton Chamberlain is nearing in on an impressive career milestone. The Roanoke, Texas, native needs just 234 assists to reach the 3,000-career mark. Chamberlain is averaging 40.8 sets per match this season and 10.74 per set and should easily reach 3,000 this season.

Junior outside hitter Alexis Shelton is nearing a milestone of her own, closing in on the 1,000 career kills mark. Shelton currently sits at 893 for her career, needing just 107 to hit the milestone. The senior is averaging 17 kills/match and 4.51 per set on the season.

WELCOME TO THE BLOCK PARTY
The Sooners defense has been a force to be reckoned with this season, recording at least eight blocks in 11 matches this season. Against Tulsa on Sept. 13, the Sooners put up an impressive 20.0 blocks, the most by a Sooner squad since tallying 19.0 against Kansas State in 2020. OU has recorded at least 7.0 blocks in every match this year and reached the double-digit mark on five occasions. The Sooners are second in the SEC in blocks per set with 2.65.

STATS & RANKINGS
Despite their record, the Sooners are statistically one of the top teams in conference games. OU ranks second in hitting percentage (.290) and third in assists (12.86/set) and kills (13.64/set). Lydia Martyn is the leagues top hitter with a .484 hitting percentage and Payton Chamberlain is sixth in assists at 10.45 per set.

STELLAR SHELTON
After missing the final two matches of the 2023 season due to injury, junior Alexis Shelton has picked up where she left off, recording double-digit kills in every match this season. Shelton has now recorded 18 consecutive matches with double-digit kills going back to the 2023 season. In her last 38 games, she has reached the double-digit kill mark on 34 occasions. The junior has notched four 20-plus kill games this season and recorded 15 kills or more in 10 matches. Shelton also ranks second on the team in digs with 106 and third in blocks with 46, proving herself to be quite the all-around player.

WE DIG IT
On Sunday, Oct. 6, Callie Kemohah found herself in the top two all-time in career digs. With 144 digs on the season, Kemohah now sits at 1,445 for her career as a Sooner. Kemohah started the season in sixth place and rapidly moved her way into the top two where she will end her career etched in the record books.

DOUBLE THE FUN
Three Sooners have combined for 10 double-doubles on the season, with two recording four each. Alexis Shelton recorded the first double-double of the year against Drake and has added three more against Tulsa, UCSB and Kentucky. Her most impressive of the year was a 22 kill, 14 dig performance against Tulsa in a five-set thriller. Payton Chamberlain also boasts four double-doubles, coming against K-State, Florida, Kentucky and Arkansas. Leah LaBoy has the other two double-double performances for the Sooners against Drake and Stephen F. Austin.

THE OPPOSITION
GEORGIA: The Bulldogs are 8-7 on the season and 2-3 in conference play after a pair of wins on the weekend. In league action, Georgia ranks fourth in digs with 14.04 per set and blocks with 2.59 per set. Clara Brower ranks fourth in assists with 10.96 per set and Sophie Fischer is third in blocks with 1.65 per set. Georgia is led offensively by Fischer's 3.32 kills per set.

SOUTH CAROLINA: The Gamecocks enter the weekend 10-5 overall and 1-3 in SEC play, picking up their first league win in upset-fashion, taking down No. 19 Florida on Sunday in a 3-0 sweep. In league play, the Gamecocks are sixth in kills per set (13.07), but 13^th in hitting percentage (.216). South Carolina excels in service aces with 1.40 per set to rank fourth in conference games. Riley Whitesides leads the team with 4.38 kills/set, while Sarah Jordan runs the offense 9.68 assists per set.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Sooners will return to the friendly confines of McCasland Field House for a pair of matches to close out the month of October. OU will host Alabama on Wednesday, Oct. 23, at 6 p.m. CT before being reunited with former Big 12 foe Missouri on Sunday, Oct. 27, at 2 p.m. on Oct. 18 before traveling to South Carolina on Oct. 20

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