Posted: Oct 26, 2022
NORMAN – The Oklahoma Volleyball team dropped a hard-fought match to No. 13 Baylor Wednesday evening, falling to the Bears 3-1, inside McCasland Field House.
"The message this week has been the heart and the hustle and so we really didn't rep fundamentally, we just played and competed," head coach Lindsey Gray-Walton said. "From a naked eye perspective, we competed really hard tonight. So as a coach, I can be proud, and we can coach to that. And that's something that the last couple of matches that we've played, we've felt as being a little inconsistent is our competitive effort and relentless pursuit to finish matches. We want to win so bad, and this team wants to get a win right now."
In round two with the Bears, Baylor took the match, 25-20, 25-22, 20-25, 25-23. From the service line, the Sooners recorded an impressive 10 service aces, which is one off their season-high as a team and the only major statistical category that the Sooners led Baylor by during the match.
The Sooners fell to 11-10 overall and 1-8 in Big 12 play while the Bears improved to 18-4 and 7-2 in league play.
Underclassman duo Megan Wilson (sophomore) and Taylor Preston (freshman) posted 16 and 15 kills, respectively. This marked the 18th match for Wilson with double-digit kills and fourth-straight, while Preston posted her eighth match with double-digit kills. Still sitting in third in the record books for aces in a single season, Wilson brought her ace total to 40 after leading OU with three aces, while also posting seven digs. Preston also added eight digs to her night.
Sophomore Payton Chamberlain added her third match this season with 40+ assists with 41, while also adding eight digs and two blocks.
Defensively, sophomore libero Callie Kemohah and freshman Chloe Kaminski led the Sooners with 11 digs each, which was a career-high for Kaminski. Alongside Chamberlain, graduate student Adria Oliver and freshman duo Alexis Shelton and Morgan Perkins each had two blocks on the night.
In a back-and-forth battle in the opening set, the Sooners and Bears remained even with three points each. OU and Baylor continued the battle for the lead as they were tied at 10 points each until the Bears went on a 5-2 scoring run before the media timeout. After the break, Baylor pulled ahead with a 3-0 run to force an OU timeout. The Bears would go on to take the opening set, 25-20.
The Sooners jumped out to a 3-1 lead to begin the second set after three-straight kills from OU including back-to-back kills from Wilson. OU extended their lead 8-6 with a kill by Wilson to force a Baylor timeout. As the set continued, a back-and-forth battle advanced with the Bears and Sooners tied at 18-18 at one point. OU pulled away 21-18 after a 3-0 run before the last Baylor timeout of the second set. After the break, the Bears made a comeback with a five-point run to force an OU timeout. The Sooners brought the score within one, 23-22, but the Bears closed out the second set, 25-22.
The Sooners off to a hot start, leading the third set 8-4, before a Baylor timeout. OU held a seven-point lead at one-point, leading Baylor 15-8 after a Preston kill. Back-to-back kills from Baylor sophomore Elise McGhee brought the score within four, 17-13. The Sooners went on a 3-0 scoring run to force Baylor's second timeout of the set. A dominating performance by the Sooners ended with a third set victory over the Bears, 25-20.
The battle began as the Sooners and Bears were tied at 3-3 to begin the fourth and final set. Baylor began to separate itself to take the 7-4. The Sooners would claw their way back to a 15-12 lead before the media timeout. The Bears would close the score by two, 20-18, after a 3-0 run to force an OU timeout. Wilson's 16th kill of the night brought the score within one, 23-22, but the Bears would win the fourth set, 25-23, to close out the match.
"You can't dwell on the six-straight losses or say that it's the perfect opportunity to get the first win, and I think we've errored on the side of putting a lot of standards and expectations and in this last 30 days we just need to play free," Gray-Walton noted. "We need to play with a passion and a lightness because it's a game. There's a lot of perspective in life that things are a lot worse at a bunch of other places and we get to play this game with this jersey on, so that's our mindset for every match from here on out."
Up next, the Sooners travel to the Sunflower State to face Kansas at 3 p.m. Sunday in Lawrence.
"The message this week has been the heart and the hustle and so we really didn't rep fundamentally, we just played and competed," head coach Lindsey Gray-Walton said. "From a naked eye perspective, we competed really hard tonight. So as a coach, I can be proud, and we can coach to that. And that's something that the last couple of matches that we've played, we've felt as being a little inconsistent is our competitive effort and relentless pursuit to finish matches. We want to win so bad, and this team wants to get a win right now."
In round two with the Bears, Baylor took the match, 25-20, 25-22, 20-25, 25-23. From the service line, the Sooners recorded an impressive 10 service aces, which is one off their season-high as a team and the only major statistical category that the Sooners led Baylor by during the match.
The Sooners fell to 11-10 overall and 1-8 in Big 12 play while the Bears improved to 18-4 and 7-2 in league play.
Sophomore Payton Chamberlain added her third match this season with 40+ assists with 41, while also adding eight digs and two blocks.
Defensively, sophomore libero Callie Kemohah and freshman Chloe Kaminski led the Sooners with 11 digs each, which was a career-high for Kaminski. Alongside Chamberlain, graduate student Adria Oliver and freshman duo Alexis Shelton and Morgan Perkins each had two blocks on the night.
In a back-and-forth battle in the opening set, the Sooners and Bears remained even with three points each. OU and Baylor continued the battle for the lead as they were tied at 10 points each until the Bears went on a 5-2 scoring run before the media timeout. After the break, Baylor pulled ahead with a 3-0 run to force an OU timeout. The Bears would go on to take the opening set, 25-20.
The Sooners jumped out to a 3-1 lead to begin the second set after three-straight kills from OU including back-to-back kills from Wilson. OU extended their lead 8-6 with a kill by Wilson to force a Baylor timeout. As the set continued, a back-and-forth battle advanced with the Bears and Sooners tied at 18-18 at one point. OU pulled away 21-18 after a 3-0 run before the last Baylor timeout of the second set. After the break, the Bears made a comeback with a five-point run to force an OU timeout. The Sooners brought the score within one, 23-22, but the Bears closed out the second set, 25-22.
The Sooners off to a hot start, leading the third set 8-4, before a Baylor timeout. OU held a seven-point lead at one-point, leading Baylor 15-8 after a Preston kill. Back-to-back kills from Baylor sophomore Elise McGhee brought the score within four, 17-13. The Sooners went on a 3-0 scoring run to force Baylor's second timeout of the set. A dominating performance by the Sooners ended with a third set victory over the Bears, 25-20.
"You can't dwell on the six-straight losses or say that it's the perfect opportunity to get the first win, and I think we've errored on the side of putting a lot of standards and expectations and in this last 30 days we just need to play free," Gray-Walton noted. "We need to play with a passion and a lightness because it's a game. There's a lot of perspective in life that things are a lot worse at a bunch of other places and we get to play this game with this jersey on, so that's our mindset for every match from here on out."
Up next, the Sooners travel to the Sunflower State to face Kansas at 3 p.m. Sunday in Lawrence.
