ABILENE, Texas – Oklahoma volleyball earned its best start in program history since 2016 after a 3-0 sweep Tuesday night at Moody Coliseum in Abilene, Texas. The Sooners moved to 8-2 on the season after winning three-straight sets: 25-16, 25-18, 25-17.
OU remains undefeated in the overall series with the Wildcats, 2-0. Ever since it's win in Nashville against Lipscomb, OU has been riding a five-win streak, including sweeping the last four matches of its seven-match road stretch. This season also marks the best start for the Sooners in the Gray-Walton era, with 2019 (7-2) being her best season start before 2022.
In another strong offensive performance, the Sooners out-hit the Wildcats .340 to .028. OU dominated the match, leading Abilene Christian in five of six major categories – points (59), kills (45), blocks (10), assists (43) and digs (47).
OU currently leads the conference with 452 assists and second with 12.56 assists per set. Defensively, the Sooners lead the conference in total digs (512) and digs per set (14.22).
Sophomore Megan Wilson and freshman Alexis Shelton led the Sooners offensively with a pair of double-digit kills, 14 and 11, respectively. Wilson matched a career-high seven digs for the fourth time in her career and third overall this season. The Kingwood, Texas native continues to lead the season in kills with 139, followed by Shelton with 101 kills.
Freshman Morgan Perkins continues to be a defensive force, leading the Sooners with six blocks, just one shy from her career-best. Wilson and sophomore setter Payton Chamberlain added four blocks, while junior Kelsey Carrington posted three blocks. Carrington was also impressive offensively, posting five kills on five total attempts for a perfect 1.000 hitting percentage.
Sophomore libero Callie Kemohah added her 10th-straight double-digit dig performance with 17, while also adding four assists. She currently leads the conference with 189 digs and 5.25 digs per set.
OU took the first set (25-16) after a back-and-forth battle with the Wildcats, tied 6-6 at one point. The Sooners went on a 3-0 run to spread the lead to 12-8 after Perkins posted a kill, followed by a service ace from freshman Chloe Kaminski. Despite service errors from the Sooners, they were leading 22-14 after a pair of kills from Shelton. Wilson closed out the match for the Sooners with back-to-back kills. Shelton dominated the first set with seven kills on a .700 clip, while Wilson added four kills.
Errors from the Sooners allowed Abilene Christian to have a 5-2 start to the second match. Kills from Carrington and freshman Taylor Preston tied the match at 5-5. The Sooners went on a 4-0 run to take the lead, 11-8, after Chamberlain added a service ace and Wilson posted a kill. After the Wildcats' second time out, Abilene Christian closed OU's lead to 20-16 after a kill from Abilene Christian's Ashil Edmiston and an attack error from Preston. Carrington and Chamberlain closed the match, 25-18, after a pair of block assists. Wilson led the Sooners offensively with five blocks, while Perkins led the defensive side of the ball with four blocks in the set.
After a slow start, the Sooners took advantage of three errors from Abilene Christian to take the lead 6-3. Later in the match, OU went on a three-point run with back-to-back kills from Wilson and a kill from Perkins to make the score 17-11 before a Wildcats timeout. Abilene Christian would cut the lead to 22-17, but the Sooners closed out strong with a trio of kills (Carrington, Shelton and Wilson) to end the match 25-17. Wilson once again led the Sooners in the final set with five kills, while Kemohah and Kaminski took care of the defense with three digs each.
NEXT SERVE
The Sooners will close out the non-conference slate at McCasland Field House Friday to host both Texas Southern and Nevada at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.
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