Balanced Attack Leads Sooners to Sweep

Thursday, September 18

Norman, Okla.

5:00 PM

University of Oklahoma

8-1,0-0SEC

Central Arkansas

2-7,0-0ASUN

Central Ark.

Oklahoma

Balanced Attack Leads Sooners to Sweep

September 18, 2025 | Volleyball

Box Score

NORMAN – A .363 team hitting percentage, nine blocks and nine service aces contributed to a balanced performance as the Oklahoma volleyball team swept Central Arkansas Thursday night in the final home non-conference match.

The Sooners (8-1) had three players hit over .350 and five record at least two blocks to defeat UCA (2-7), 28-26, 25-19, 25-8.

Kamille Gibson had a career night behind the service line, recording five of the Sooners' nine aces.

Alexis Shelton and Emoni Bush led the offense with 14 kills apiece, hitting .370 and .433, respectively. Kelli Jo Burgess added six kills with zero errors at a .667 clip.

On the defensive side of the game, Burgess led the team with six blocks. Gibson added four, Bush chipped in three and Shelton and Ada Awagu each tallied a pair.

Shelton was just shy of a double-double with nine digs on the night. Dionni Fraga tallied a match-high 15, while Harper Hall added seven. Hall also notched 14 assists and Avaya Maga chipped in 25.

OU took the first set 28-26 behind eight kills from Shelton. The Sooners struggled to find rhythm offensively, falling behind 13-10 early. A service ace from Gibson put the Sooners ahead 15-14 and the teams traded points to a 20-20 tie. Down 24-22, the Sooners used a 3-0 run to take a 25-24 lead. An extended first set went OU's way as a kill from Bush gave the Sooners set point and a Sydney Thompson service ace clinched the set.

The Sooners hit .387 with 15 kills in the second set to win 25-19. OU took a five-point lead at 17-12 on Gibson's second ace of the match. UCA pulled within three at 19-16, but a 4-1 run from OU put the set out of reach for the Sugar Bears. Bush's 11^th kill of the match made it 24-19 and the triple block of Bush, Burgess and Gibson sealed the 2-0 advantage.

OU ran away with the final set, 25-8, behind an impressive performance from the service line. A 5-0 scoring run, sparked by Gibson serving, forced an early UCA timeout with the Sooners up 6-1. With Maga at the service line late in the match, the Sooners rattled off an 8-0 run to take a 23-7 lead. Bush tallied kill No. 14 to set up match point and Shelton slammed one home for the win.

The Sooners head to Conway, Ark., Sunday, Sept. 21, for the final non-conference game of the season. OU and Central Arkansas will meet on the court at 3 p.m. CT on ESPN+.