Sooners Defeat FIU, Best Opening Weekend Since 2018

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Oklahoma (3-0,0-0 Big 12)	25	25	25	25	3
Florida Int'l (0-3,0-0 C-USA)	27	18	18	17	1

Game Leaders

Florida Int'l

K: Meyer, Emily - 14

B: Dimitriadis, Athina - 6

D: Turner, Katie - 14

SA: Thibault, Paige - 3

Oklahoma

K: Megan Wilson - 17

B: Morgan Perkins - 6

D: Peyton Dunn - 18

SA: Peyton Dunn - 2

Team Stats

Florida Int'l

Oklahoma

Hitting %

0.11

0.257

Blocks

Digs

Aces

full stats

Posted: Aug 28, 2022

NORMAN – Oklahoma Volleyball rallied after dropping the first set to beat FIU, 25-27, 25-18, 25-18, 25-17, Sunday afternoon in front of a passionate crowd at McCasland Field House.

"I think a credit to the sum of the parts, which is a big pillar for us, but it's also it's a true statement," head coach Lindsey Gray-Walton said." We have the depth on our roster, not because of our opponent, but because people have earned the right to play."

The Sooners improved to 3-0 on the season and had their best opening weekend finish since the beginning of the Gray-Walton Era in 2018. This also marked the first meeting between the Sooners and Panthers, where OU now leads the series, 1-0.

"As a 3-0 start, it was it was everybody … it was the serving, passing, defense, and then that leads to offense," Gray-Walton noted. "Everyone did their job when they were expected to. That's how you build trust as a team and build consistency moving forward. We're just really excited that we could play our brand of volleyball at our pace, that we wanted to manage the game. I think that can be a competitive advantage for us as we go on the road this weekend."

Sophomore Megan Wilson led the match with 17 kills and added four digs, three blocks and a service ace. Wilson had a fast start in the match, recording seven kills in the first set.

Taylor Preston, playing in her first match as a Sooner, finished with 12 kills and a .407 hitting percentage. She also added three digs and a block in her collegiate debut. Preston had a strong finish with seven kills in the last two sets, including the final point of the match.

Graduate student Savannah Davison also had a big match with 12 kills, 10 digs and three blocks. Davison came in the second set to record four kills and had an impactful finish in the last set with six kills and four digs.

Sophomore Peyton Dunn added a career-best 18 digs and two service aces, while dishing 40 assists. In her sophomore campaign, Callie Kemohah added 14 digs and eight assists.

Defensively, freshman Morgan Perkins led the Sooners with six blocks. She also added eight kills and hit .400 in the match.

FIU took the first set in the back-and-forth battle, holding on for a 27-25 win. The Sooners committed 10 attack errors and hit .122 in the first set.

"I think there's a sense of entitlement versus earned that we've been talking about a lot with the balance of are you entitled to win because you're a really good player or did you earn the win because you're a really good player?," Gray-Walton said. "Our mindset has definitely shifted now that we're earning points and wins. So, it was good that we got pushed and good that we had to push back … that's a deciding moment."

OU bounced back in a big way in the second set, cruising to a comfortable 25-18 win to even the match at one set apiece. The Sooners hit .364 in the second set and Wilson and Davison led the way with four kills each in the set.

The Sooners grabbed the lead with a 25-18 set win, behind four kills by Preston, along with four digs from Dunn, Davison and Kemohah apiece.

OU put the match away in emphatic fashion, cruising to a 25-17 fourth-set win. The Sooners had their first lead of the match after 15 plays and gained momentum after a seven-point run (19-12), late in the final set.

"I just want to give a shout out to our marketing team to the experience that you get in the fieldhouse," Gray-Walton noted. "I truly think that it's one of the best tickets in town this fall and so if you're not a volleyball fan, I would encourage you to just come watch this team. I would also say keep coming … that can be our competitive advantage. You can get up for that as a team to play in front of and it's hard to play against as an opponent."

TWO SOONERS NAMED ALL-TOURNAMENT, WILSON MVP

Sophomore duo Wilson and Dunn earned All-Tournament recognition, while Wilson was named the most valuable player at the OU Invitational. Wilson racked up 50 kills and posted 10 digs and five service aces, while Dunn dished out 117 assists and 36 digs on the weekend.

NEXT SERVE

The Sooners are back in action Sept. 2-3 at the LUV Invitational in Nashville, Tennessee. OU will face Ball State on Friday, Sept. 2, and SEC foe Mississippi State and host Lipscomb on Saturday, Sept. 3.