SEC Tournament Begins Friday in Savannah

NORMAN – The SEC Volleyball Tournament kicks off Friday morning as the No. 9 seed Oklahoma volleyball team takes on No. 16 seed Arkansas at 11 a.m. CT in Savannah, Ga. Friday's match will air on SEC Network live from Enmarket Arena.

ALL-SEC HONORS
Alexis Shelton and Kellu Jo Burgess earned SEC honors as the league announced its postseason awards earlier this week. Burgess earned her first honor as she was named to the All-SEC Second Team, while Shelton earned her second All-SEC First Team nod.

Shelton had another impressive season for the Sooners, finishing with double-digit kills in 22 of 23 matches, including six 20-plus kill performances. The Charlotte, N.C., native leads Oklahoma with 4.01 kills/set and 389 on the year. In 2025, she eclipsed the 1,500-kill mark, just the sixth player in program history to achieve the feat. Shelton left her mark all over the stat sheet in 2025, tallying 10 service aces, 142 digs and 73 blocks.

Burgess had a breakout year for the Sooners in 2025, finishing as the league's second-best hitter and blocker. Dominant on both sides of the ball, the redshirt junior finished the regular season with a hitting percentage of .414. Burgess has recorded 183 kills, with four double-digit performances, this season. On the defensive side of the net, Burgess is No. 2 in the SEC with 1.33 blocks/set. The Lehi, Utah, native has tallied 129 blocks on the year with 17 solo blocks. She recorded a career high with 11.0 blocks against Kentucky last weekend.

ONE-TWO PUNCH
The one-two punch of Alexis Shelton and Emoni Bush has been a force for the Sooners this season. The duo has combined for 687 kills on the season, for an incredible 53 percent of the total offense. Shelton leads the way with 389 kills, while Bush has added 298. Bush's 298 kills are the most in a single season in her career, topping her 296 from 2024. The grad transfer is just two kills away from her first 300 kill season. Shelton needs just 11 for her third straight season with at least 400 kills.

The duo has also been a mainstay on the defensive side of the ball, totaling 148 blocks, just over 60 percent of the total defense. Bush has added 162 digs on the season while Shelton has chipped in 142.

WELCOME TO THE BLOCK PARTY
The Sooners defense has been a force to be reckoned with this season, especially in league action. In conference games only, the Sooners are No. 2 in blocks/set with 2.67, just narrowly trailing Georgia's 2.68. The Sooners lead the conference with 157.5 total blocks in conference games. Kelli Jo Burgess is second in league play with 1.53 blocks/set but leads the conference as the only player with double-digit solo blocks (13), while sitting second with 90 total blocks.

The Sooners have recorded at least 5.0 blocks in every match this season, with a season high of 17.0 against No. 2 Kentucky. In 10 matches, OU has put up double-digit blocks with seven of those coming against conference opponents. OU's 17.0 blocks against Kentucky were the most by an opposing conference team against the Wildcats.

MILESTONES MADE
Alexis Shelton became the sixth player in program history to tally 1,500 career kills. Shelton, who sits at 1,507, reached the new milestone against Tennessee on Nov. 16. Emoni Bush recently reached a new milestone, hitting 1,000 career kills against Alabama on Nov. 7. Also against Alabama, Harper Hall recorded her 1,000th career assist.

DOWN IN HISTORY
After becoming the 15th Sooner to reach 1,000 kills, Shelton is now the all-time kills leader in the 25-point rally scoring era and is the first Sooner since Kierra Holst in 2015 to break into the top 10 all-time. Shelton currently sits in sixth with 1,507, just the sixth Sooner to reach 1,500 kills in a career. Shelton now also holds three spots in the top 10 for kills in a single season in the 25-point rally scoring era. If she records at least 11 in any remaining matches this season, she will be just the fourth person in OU history (all scoring eras) to record three seasons of 400-plus kills.

Shelton will also finish in the top 10 in total attempts all-time. Currently, she has 3,593 which is good for 9th. In the 25-point rally scoring era, her 3,593 attempts is good for third all-time.

THE KELLI JO SHOW
Redshirt junior Kelli Jo Burgess is quietly having the best season of her career. In 2024, Burgess tallied 78 kills in 21 matches and just one match with more than 10 kills. This season, Burgess has 183 kills and four double-digit performances. The Lehi, Utah, native hit .238 in 2024 and is hitting .414 on 345 attempts this season.

Burgess could set not only the single-season hitting percentage record, but the all-time percentage record. The current single-season record, set in 2013 by Sallie McLaurin, is .423, and only two players have ever hit over .400 in a career in the 25-point rally scoring era. McLaurin also holds the all-time record with a .363 career hitting percentage. Burgess is currently hitting .371 in just two seasons at OU and is officially eligible with 525 attempts.

On the defensive side, Burgess has tallied 129 blocks through 25 games. Her 11.0 blocks against No. 2 Kentucky were a career best. Burgess is the current team leader in blocks, averaging 1.33 per set. She has 54 more blocks than the next closest athlete and leads the team with 17 solo blocks.

STATS & RANKINGS
Kelli Jo Burgess represents the Sooners nationally, sitting at No. 21 in hitting percentage (.414). She ranks second in the SEC in hitting percentage, while also sitting in fourth in blocks/set with 1.33. Alexis Shelton is 10th in both kills (4.01) and points (4.53)

In conference matches only, Burgess is fifth in hitting percentage (.380) and second in blocks/set (1.53). Shelton is eighth in kills (4.36/set) and seventh in points (4.92/set).

As a team, the Sooners are No. 3 with 1.57 aces/set, No. 4 with 2.50 blocks/set and No. 5 in hitting percentage (.257) and assists (12/53/set) in all games. In conference play, the Sooners are No. 1 in aces (1.44/set), No. 2 in blocks (2.67/set) and No. 5 in hitting percentage (.251).

LOOKING AHEAD
Should the Sooners defeat Arkansas in the first round, they will face the No. 8 seed, Auburn, on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT. The Sooners fell to Auburn in the regular season, 3-1, in Norman.