NORMAN – Oklahoma volleyball earned its first home victory against Iowa in program history after a 3-0 sweep in front of a raucous crowd at McCasland Field House. The Sooners took the match 25-18, 25-21, 25-22.
OU leads the overall series, 3-1, and earned their first win against the Hawkeyes in 45 years. The win also marks its 29th victory over Big Ten foes, including 10 at home.
"We talk a lot about the preseason schedule that we've put together and the opportunity that's out there from the teams in the conference that they come from," head coach Lindsey Gray-Walton said. "So Iowa isn't just Iowa … Iowa is a Big Ten team. With that comes big RPI points and to post a 3-0 victory over a Big Ten opponent, helps just to build more confidence and show we are capable, and we can do it."
Sophomore Megan Wilson led the court with 19 kills, while hitting .400 in the match and adding three digs and service aces apiece. Wilson had a fast start and finish in the match, recording seven kills each in the first and third sets, and a hitting percentage of .500 in the last set.
In her sophomore campaign, Peyton Dunn posted 36 assists, matched a career-best seven digs and defensively led the Sooners with four blocks.
"I think she's doing a really nice job of running an offense and making decisions of who to set when, where and also late match situations to close them out," Gray-Walton noted. "And that's why we've been able to go 3-0, 3-0 … she's the person setting all the people, but she's making really good decisions right now."
Fellow sophomore Callie Kemohah also added 18 digs on the night. Graduate student Adria Oliver posted five kills, including two in the first set for a .667 hitting percentage.
In only her second college start, freshman Alexis Shelton finished with 11 kills and .348 hitting percentage. Fellow newcomer Morgan Perkins also came through for the Sooners defensively with three blocks, including two in the first set.
OU took the first set after Iowa went on a three-point run to begin the match. The teams went back-and-forth throughout the opening set until the Sooners went on a four-point run and eventually win the opening set, 25-18.
The Sooners battled in the second set, tying the Hawkeyes seven times. Wilson and Shelton had a huge impact on OU to win the set 25-21, with five and four kills each.
OU was off to a slow start, trailing the Hawkeyes in the first six plays of the third and final set. The Sooners picked up the momentum with a six-point run (leading 9-3), after back-to-back kills from Wilson and a pair of errors from Iowa. A service error by Iowa's Mari Hinkle secured the match point and sweep for OU.
"I think we're just really excited that the balance continues to show up in our offense and also the aggressiveness from the serving line that puts so much pressure on both teams so far this weekend," Gray-Walton said. "We want to continue that into the final match tomorrow."
The Sooners conclude opening weekend against FIU at 1 p.m. Sunday inside McCasland Field House.
"I'm also looking at what the attendance was and a 1,000 is always the baseline that you hope for," Gray-Walton noted. "I think it speaks to how we must be making people feel when they're watching our team play the game. They want to come back, they want to support them and want to see more good things happen for this program. So, I would say to the 1,003 that were here tonight, come back and let's get 1,500 tomorrow on a fun, Sunday afternoon."
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