WEEKEND RECAP
The Sooners opened SEC play with a 1-1 weekend, dropping a nail-biting five-set match to Florida before earning a 3-1 win over Tennessee. Payton Chamberlain recorded a double-double in the match against Florida, while three Sooners recorded double-digit kills. After dropping the first set, the Sooners won sets two and three before Florida forced a fifth and final. In the fifth set, OU took a 9-3 lead, before ultimately falling 15-13.
Against Tennessee on Sunday, three Sooners once again recorded double-digit kills, led by 19 from Alexis Shelton. As a team, the Sooners hit .331 as Kari Geissberger hit .440 with 14 kills. Chamberlain recorded as season high in assists with 52.
MCCASLAND MAGIC
Sunday’s win over Tennessee was extra special, for more reasons than one. While also being the first conference victory as members of the SEC, the win marked the first over a ranked opponent since Oct. 25, 2014 when the Sooners took down No. 2 Texas in Austin. The win was also the first over a ranked opponent inside McCasland since Sept. 27, 2014 when the Sooners defeated No. 23 Kansas.
CHAMBERLAIN EARNS SEC HONORS
Payton Chamberlain brought home the first SEC Weekly Honor of the year as she was named the co-setter of the week. The weekly award is the first in her career for Chamberlain. The senior shared the honor with Kentucky’s Emma Grome.
In two matches, Chamberlain recorded 93 assists for an average of 10.33 assists per set over the weekend. The Roanoke, Texas, native also added 18 digs, three kills, two service aces and four blocks as OU opened conference play.
Against Florida, Chamberlain recorded her second double-double of the season, notching 41 assists and 10 digs. All four of her blocks game against the Gators as she notched three block assists and one solo block. In the win over Tennessee, Chamberlain tallied a season-high 52 assists, just five shy of her career record. She added two service aces to go with eight digs as she helped OU to its first win over a top-25 team since 2014.
WE DIG IT
With 114 digs on the season, libero Callie Kemohah is moving her way up the top five in OU history for career digs. The senior needed just seven digs going into the 2024 season to pass two-time Big 12 Libero of the Year Keyton Kinley for fifth place and now sits at 1,415 to sit in third. Kemohah needs just 21 digs to finish second all-time.
STATS & RANKINGS
In the SEC, OU ranks second in blocks at 2.72 per set, fourth in assists at 13.26 per set, fourth in hitting percentage (.284) and fourth in kills at 13.66 per set. Individually, Alexis Shelton ranks third in kills with 4.66/set, Payton Chamberlain is second in assists at 10.84/set and Lydia Martyn is fifth in blocks at 1.29/set. In conference matches, Kari Geissberger ranks third in hitting percentage with a .528 mark.
THE OPPOSITION
KENTUCKY: The No. 13 Wildcats are 7-6 overall and 1-1 in league action after falling in the conference opener, 3-2, to Auburn and earning a 3-1 win over Florida. Five of Kentucky’s six losses have come to ranked opponents who were all in the top 10 at the time of play. Offensively, the Wildcats are led by Brooklyn DeLeye who boasts a 4.29 kills/set mark. Setting the tone is setter Emma Grome who is averaging 10.47 assists per set.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Sooners return home to host Arkansas on Sunday, Oct. 6, at 2 p.m. inside McCasland Field House. The meet is the annual Pink Match, supporting breast cancer awareness.
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