NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A trio of Sooners notched double-digit kills as the Oklahoma volleyball team fell in four sets (17-25, 27-29, 25-20, 16-25) to Ball State in their first road match of the season.
"Today was a big test, offensively," head coach Lindsey-Gray Walton said. "We had another good showing, but defensively it just wasn't enough against a fundamentally sound team like Ball State. A set point and a swing away from taking the second … it might be a different outcome we're talking about."
The overall matchup was fairly close with the Cardinals (4-0) having a narrow lead over the Sooners (3-1) in kills (54-62), assists (50-54) and digs (63-64).
Freshman Alexis Shelton led the offensive attack with a career-high 18 kills on a .333 hitting percentage and 20 points. Shelton had just four errors in the match and defensively posted four blocks.
Sophomore Megan Wilson chipped in 13 kills, while newcomer Taylor Preston added 11 kills and career-high 10 digs.
In her sophomore campaign, Peyton Dunn notched 46 assists while adding eight digs for the Sooners.
Defensively, sophomore Callie Kemohah led the Sooners with 20 digs, followed by career-high 10 from freshman duo Preston and Chloe Kaminski.
In a back-and-forth battle with the Sooners, the Cardinals were tied 13-13 until they were able to pull away with a six-point run late. Shelton's fourth kill of the day brought OU within one, but Ball State was able to close out the set for a 25-17 win. The Sooners committed five attack errors and hit .143 in the first set.
The Cardinals led 22-18 in the second set with Preston's back-to-back kills to slow Ball State's run. OU went on a five-point run and was able to take its first lead of the match, 26-25. Coming down to the two last plays, Ball State's Natalie Mitchem posted back-to-back kills to close the second set with a 29-27 win.
Ball State took command of the third set 10-9 before the Sooners went on a five-point run to take a commanding 17-13 lead. The Cardinals attempted to chip away at OU's lead, but a pair of kills from Preston and an attack error by Ball State's Katie Egenolf led the Sooners to their first set win on the day, 25-20.
The Cardinals took an early lead in set four, but the Sooners were about to get it within one, 7-6, after a kill from Preston. Ball State would continue to control the tempo of the fourth set, going on a seven-point run and keeping the Sooners scoreless. The Cardinals closed out the set on a 3-0 run to take the match, 3-1.
"They make you earn your points and frustrate you by staying in the long rallies with great defensive touches," Gray-Walton noted. "I think that effected our mentality early, and in the end, we just didn't have enough points left to play to keep our rhythm to win."
The Sooners complete their Nashville trip Saturday against SEC foe Mississippi State at 11 a.m., followed by host Lipscomb at 7 p.m.
"Tomorrow, our mental discipline and serve/pass game will be critical to successful outcomes," Gray-Walton said.
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