NORMAN – Sophomore Megan Wilson notched her sixth-straight match in double-digit kills as the Oklahoma volleyball team were swept by Kansas during their Big 12 home opener Wednesday night inside McCasland Field House.
The Jayhawks took the match in straight-sets, 25-13, 25-17, 25-17. Kansas led the Sooners in all major statistical categories and out hit OU.385 to .185. The Sooners saw their undefeated mark at home snapped in the loss. OU is now 6-3 all-time against Kansas under head coach Lindsey Gray-Walton.
"It wasn't our night," Gray-Walton said. "We need to get back to what was helping us win a lot of games. That's serving the ball tough, passing the ball well, and having a relentless pursuit to want to dig, hit the floor and play gritty defense."
Wilson led the offense and the match with 16 kills and an ace, which moved her season ace total to 30, putting her fourth in the record books. Graduate student Savannah Davison chipped in six kills, while freshman duo Alexis Shelton and Morgan Perkins added four kills apiece.
Sophomore Payton Chamberlain led OU's defense with nine digs and four blocks, while also adding 24 assists. Sophomore Callie Kemohah followed with eight digs, while Perkins led in blocks with six.
Kansas claimed the first point of the first set, but OU made it a back-and-forth battle after Perkins posted back-to-back kills to push the Sooners ahead, 8-7. Although, the Jayhawks went on a four-point run before a Sooner timeout to make the score 13-9. Out of the break, the Jayhawks added back-to-back kills to force another OU timeout and extend the lead 18-11. Despite five kills by Wilson, the Sooners fell 25-13 after the first.
After the Jayhawks came out strong to take the first point of the second set, OU immediately responded with four kills in six plays to strengthen its lead 5-2. The beginning of the set was a back-and-forth battle as the Sooners took the two-point lead after a Davison kill going into the media timeout. After back-to-back Kansas kills, Wilson responded with a kill of her own to take the lead for the Sooners. The Jayhawks went on an eight-point run and would eventually secure the second set victory, 25-17.
Kansas claimed the first point of the set after an attack error from Wilson, but the Sooners went toe-to-toe with the Jayhawks and eventually taking the lead 7-6 after a kill from Shelton. OU would go on a four-point run after a trio of attack errors from Kansas and another kill from Shelton to make the score 10-8. The Jayhawks took back the lead 15-13 going into the media timeout. After the break, Davison added a kill for the Sooners, but Kansas added three-straight points before an OU timeout. The Jayhawks would close out the set with back-to-back kills, 25-17, to win the conference match.
"Right now our goal is to win 20 in the regular season," Gray-Walton noted. "We have 10 and we're hunting for number 11 right now, but we only have 15 or 14 matches left. That's a goal of ours and I think right now we've eclipsed a lot of goals that we've set as a program, so we don't want to stop and shy away from that."
OU returns to McCasland Field House this weekend against West Virginia at 1 p.m. Saturday. The match will serve as Greek Day where a $300 donation will be given to the Greek organization with the most attendees. Free OU Volleyball bucket hats will be available for fans while supplies last.
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