The Oklahoma Sooner Women's Volleyball Team has two matches this weekend and for the first time in Big 12 play will play in two locations in a week. On Wednesday, the Sooners will host TCU in a 6 PM match. On Saturday, the Sooners will travel to Lawrence, KS to play Kansas for a 1 PM first serve on the road.
On Wednesday the Sooners will attempt to win their first Big 12 match of the season as the Sooners are 0-5 in the Big 12 as they have played Texas, UCF and BYU who holds a combined 14-2 record in the Big 12 and the two BYU losses were to Texas. Texas is currently ranked 7th, BYU 9th and UCF is 28th. OU's schedule has been brutal so far in the Big 12. OU is 6-8 overall this season.
TCU has a 4-2 record in the Big 12 this season (11-6 overall) and have played K-State (3-3), Texas Tech (1-5) and Cincinnati (2-3). As you can see, their opponents have a combined record of 6-11 and none of the three teams are ranked. TCU has split their two-game DHs with K-State and Cincinnati. TCU swept the DH with Tech. TCU will host BYU on Saturday.
Kansas has a 3-3 record in the Big 12 this season (12-4 overall) and they are ranked 17th. Kansas has played Texas Tech (1-5), Houston (2-3) and Texas (6-0). Houston is ranked #21 and is 9-5 overall. Kansas does not play this week until Saturday against OU.
Here is the Sooner staff writers article about this week's matches against TCU and Kansas.
https://soonersports.com/news/2023/10/1 ... s-saturday
In Oklahoma's 5 losses in the Big 12, they have played 16 sets with 10 of those sets being matches within 3 points (all loses). 57.5% of their big 12 matches have been very close and winnable against a very tough Big 12 schedule as noted above. In looking at the stats the errors are what is keeping OU from picking up that first win.
For the season, the Sooners have committed 570 errors in 51 sets for a 11.18 errors per set. The Sooner opponents have committed 458 errors in those 51 sets for 8.98 per set. OU is committing 2.20 more errors per set on average. The Sooners are winning 17.18 points per set on Kills,, Service aces and Blocks. Their opponents are picking up 15.57 points per set which is a 1.61 positive points a set. If the Sooner could reduce their errors by 2 each set, the path to wins is there. If the Sooners can put one more serve in, and one more attack attempt at the net into the court each set, they can win even against the best teams.
I think the Sooners will break through this week as they can defeat TCU on Wednesday night. If they win that match, they can carry some momentum into the Kansas match on Saturday.
Wednesday night is Military Appreciation Match for the Sooners at McCasland Field House.
Good luck to the Sooners this week.
Boomer Sooner!
Sooner VB Team hosts TCU (W) & travels to Kansas (Sa) This Week!
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OUBeliever56A
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OUBeliever56A
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OUBeliever56A
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I will admit that I was at the Softball game last night but I was following the Sooner VB match on the Live Stats. I was very happy to see OU win the first two sets in close play 25-22 and 25-23. I did see that TCU won the 3rd set 29-27 in another close set via Live Stats. I was able to get home and watch the VB match on ESPN+ in the middle of the 4th set. the 4th set was won by TCU 25-23 to even the match up at 2 sets apiece. In the 5th set, the Sooners got behind, rallied to tie it and take the lead and then dropped i think 4 of the last 5 points to drop the set 15-13. TCU picked up a big 5 set win as they rallied from an 0-2 set deficit.
As 'pramon' commented above, it had to be a frustrating loss for the Sooners. From what I learned in the post-match interview with Coach Mansfield. The Sooners had the ball in their server's hands with a two point lead in the 3rd set with a chance to sweep TCU in 3 sets. that proved to be the fatal flaw in the match it seems.
I wish there was a staff writers article about the match last night this morning, but it is not there. I like to see the 'Game Book' for the details of the match. But what I could see was the 'Box Score'. It is pretty evident what the difference was in the match against TCU. Once again it was errors that hurt the Sooners. The Sooners clearly outhit TCU with 67 Kills to 51 Kills for TCU. OU also had a better Hitting % and Kill % than TCU. There were a high number of blocks at the net by both teams though. TCU had 22.0 block points while OU had 12.0 block points. Even with that TCU advantage, OU still won more points with 79 vs the 73 for TCU.
Oklahoma's errors were the difference though. The Sooners had 64 errors on the night compared to only 48 for TCU. That is a 16 point giveaway to TCU by the Sooners. In a match where the Sooners scored 113 points and TCU scored 114, those 16 points were very tough to offset. The biggest difference was in the service errors. TCU had only 8 service errors on the night with 10 service aces. OU had 18 service errors and 8 service aces. From what the announcers said, the Sooners served well in the fist two sets but that their errors increased in the last three sets. I know in the 5th set, I think OU had numerous service errors, maybe as many as 5. i know that late in the 5th set, the Sooners had several service errors.
I think that last night some progress was made by the Sooners. Winning the first two sets was a good sign and from what I understand the Sooners were down 11-18 in the 2nd set and came back to win the set 25-23. But to not capitalize on the lead in the 3rd sets and with the ball in the Server's hand, and not win that, what turned out to be crucial set, is very tough.
They had a chance to win the 4th set also. There were 49 tie scores and 25 lead changes in the match. It was a very close match.
I do think Sooners need to work harder on the middle block especially on quick sets. The Sooners just do not get up quickly on direct middle kills. I do not know if it is a system thing or just a failure to see the play happening soon enough. I think Chamberlain makes up for many poor first touches to still manage to give OU a good set on kill attempts. I think Chamberlain is a huge upgrade over Dunn from 2021 and early 2022. I also think she is playing on about 1.5 knees right now. She has a bad knee and it sometimes shows. The DH'ers on the schedule is tough on Chamberlain. Maybe she was fatigued at the end of the match and did take at least one bad set on the outside but Chamberlain is not an impediment to winning for the Sooners. One think that is missing for the Sooners this year is back-row sets and kill attempts. The Sooners have 3 rotations with just two hitters on the front line with Chamberlain. If the Sooners go with defensive specialist on the back row to help on returns and defense, there is no back row players to set for. If they Sooners keep Shelton or Preston on the back row, it hurts the defense. It is a dilemma for the Sooners. Do the Sooners focus on the defense or the offense? The offense can get very predictable at times for OU. I think at times the back-row set and play could help. But the right players need to be on the back row.
I also think that the additional playing time for Kelsey Carrington has helped the front line play. Her size over Ellison is probably needed. But it also takes Ellison off the floor and she is athletic and can serve well. It is another tough choice for the Sooner coaches. Ireland McNees is also playing more and helping with defense on serving.
The Sooners face Kansas on Saturday afternoon in Lawrence, KS with a 1 PM Match.
I am still strongly supporting the Sooner VB team. They are close and will break through I believe.
Boomer Sooner!
As 'pramon' commented above, it had to be a frustrating loss for the Sooners. From what I learned in the post-match interview with Coach Mansfield. The Sooners had the ball in their server's hands with a two point lead in the 3rd set with a chance to sweep TCU in 3 sets. that proved to be the fatal flaw in the match it seems.
I wish there was a staff writers article about the match last night this morning, but it is not there. I like to see the 'Game Book' for the details of the match. But what I could see was the 'Box Score'. It is pretty evident what the difference was in the match against TCU. Once again it was errors that hurt the Sooners. The Sooners clearly outhit TCU with 67 Kills to 51 Kills for TCU. OU also had a better Hitting % and Kill % than TCU. There were a high number of blocks at the net by both teams though. TCU had 22.0 block points while OU had 12.0 block points. Even with that TCU advantage, OU still won more points with 79 vs the 73 for TCU.
Oklahoma's errors were the difference though. The Sooners had 64 errors on the night compared to only 48 for TCU. That is a 16 point giveaway to TCU by the Sooners. In a match where the Sooners scored 113 points and TCU scored 114, those 16 points were very tough to offset. The biggest difference was in the service errors. TCU had only 8 service errors on the night with 10 service aces. OU had 18 service errors and 8 service aces. From what the announcers said, the Sooners served well in the fist two sets but that their errors increased in the last three sets. I know in the 5th set, I think OU had numerous service errors, maybe as many as 5. i know that late in the 5th set, the Sooners had several service errors.
I think that last night some progress was made by the Sooners. Winning the first two sets was a good sign and from what I understand the Sooners were down 11-18 in the 2nd set and came back to win the set 25-23. But to not capitalize on the lead in the 3rd sets and with the ball in the Server's hand, and not win that, what turned out to be crucial set, is very tough.
They had a chance to win the 4th set also. There were 49 tie scores and 25 lead changes in the match. It was a very close match.
I do think Sooners need to work harder on the middle block especially on quick sets. The Sooners just do not get up quickly on direct middle kills. I do not know if it is a system thing or just a failure to see the play happening soon enough. I think Chamberlain makes up for many poor first touches to still manage to give OU a good set on kill attempts. I think Chamberlain is a huge upgrade over Dunn from 2021 and early 2022. I also think she is playing on about 1.5 knees right now. She has a bad knee and it sometimes shows. The DH'ers on the schedule is tough on Chamberlain. Maybe she was fatigued at the end of the match and did take at least one bad set on the outside but Chamberlain is not an impediment to winning for the Sooners. One think that is missing for the Sooners this year is back-row sets and kill attempts. The Sooners have 3 rotations with just two hitters on the front line with Chamberlain. If the Sooners go with defensive specialist on the back row to help on returns and defense, there is no back row players to set for. If they Sooners keep Shelton or Preston on the back row, it hurts the defense. It is a dilemma for the Sooners. Do the Sooners focus on the defense or the offense? The offense can get very predictable at times for OU. I think at times the back-row set and play could help. But the right players need to be on the back row.
I also think that the additional playing time for Kelsey Carrington has helped the front line play. Her size over Ellison is probably needed. But it also takes Ellison off the floor and she is athletic and can serve well. It is another tough choice for the Sooner coaches. Ireland McNees is also playing more and helping with defense on serving.
The Sooners face Kansas on Saturday afternoon in Lawrence, KS with a 1 PM Match.
I am still strongly supporting the Sooner VB team. They are close and will break through I believe.
Boomer Sooner!
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OUBeliever56A
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In other Big 12 VB acton on Wednesday night, here are the results;
UCF defeated West Virginia 3 sets to 0 sets in Morgantown, WV.
Kansas State defeated Iowa State 3 sets to 0 sets in Manhattan, KS. This was a bit of an upset by K-State.
Here the current standings through matches last night (Wednesday):
T-1st - UCF - 6-0 and 15-2 overall.
T-1st - Texas - 6-0 and 11-3 overall.
3rd - TCU - 5-2 and 12-6 overall.
4th - Iowa State - 4-2 and 13-4 overall.
5th - BYU - 3-2 and 14-3 overall.
6th - Kansas State - 4-3 and 10-6 overall.
7th - Kansas - 3-3 and 12-4 overall.
T-8th - Houston - 2-3 and 9-5 overall.
T-8th - Cincinnati - 2-3 and 9-6 overall.
T-8th - Baylor - 2-3 and 8-7 overall.
11th - Texas Tech - 1-5 and 8-10 overall.
T-12th - Oklahoma - 0-6 and 6-9 overall.
T-12th - West Virginia - 0-6 and 7-12 overall.
The remaining Big 12 matches during the rest of the week are below:
Thursday:
Baylor at Cincinnati - 1st Match of a DHer. Toss up match.
Friday:
Baylor at Cincinnati - 2nd Match of a DHer. Toss up match.
Texas Tech at BYU - 1st Match of a DHer. BYU should hold serve at home and pick up a win.
Saturday:
Oklahoma at Kansas - More later on this one.
TCU at West Virginia - TCU should pick up a win on the road.
Texas at Houston - 1st Match of a DHer. Texas seems to be on a roll right now, Texas should win.
Kansas State at UCF - I wonder if UCF can remain unbeaten as K-State defeated Iowa State on Wednesday night. I will be interested to see if UCF wins.
Texas Tech at BYU - 2nd Match of a DHer. BYU should pick up a second win.
Sunday:
Texas at Houston - 2nd Match of a DHer. Texas seems to be on a roll right now, Texas should win.
UCF defeated West Virginia 3 sets to 0 sets in Morgantown, WV.
Kansas State defeated Iowa State 3 sets to 0 sets in Manhattan, KS. This was a bit of an upset by K-State.
Here the current standings through matches last night (Wednesday):
T-1st - UCF - 6-0 and 15-2 overall.
T-1st - Texas - 6-0 and 11-3 overall.
3rd - TCU - 5-2 and 12-6 overall.
4th - Iowa State - 4-2 and 13-4 overall.
5th - BYU - 3-2 and 14-3 overall.
6th - Kansas State - 4-3 and 10-6 overall.
7th - Kansas - 3-3 and 12-4 overall.
T-8th - Houston - 2-3 and 9-5 overall.
T-8th - Cincinnati - 2-3 and 9-6 overall.
T-8th - Baylor - 2-3 and 8-7 overall.
11th - Texas Tech - 1-5 and 8-10 overall.
T-12th - Oklahoma - 0-6 and 6-9 overall.
T-12th - West Virginia - 0-6 and 7-12 overall.
The remaining Big 12 matches during the rest of the week are below:
Thursday:
Baylor at Cincinnati - 1st Match of a DHer. Toss up match.
Friday:
Baylor at Cincinnati - 2nd Match of a DHer. Toss up match.
Texas Tech at BYU - 1st Match of a DHer. BYU should hold serve at home and pick up a win.
Saturday:
Oklahoma at Kansas - More later on this one.
TCU at West Virginia - TCU should pick up a win on the road.
Texas at Houston - 1st Match of a DHer. Texas seems to be on a roll right now, Texas should win.
Kansas State at UCF - I wonder if UCF can remain unbeaten as K-State defeated Iowa State on Wednesday night. I will be interested to see if UCF wins.
Texas Tech at BYU - 2nd Match of a DHer. BYU should pick up a second win.
Sunday:
Texas at Houston - 2nd Match of a DHer. Texas seems to be on a roll right now, Texas should win.
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OUBeliever56A
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In other Big 12 Volleyball Action on Saturday, here were the results:
- On the road, Texas defeated Houston 3 sets to 1 set. Houston picked up a 25-17 win in the 2nd set.
- West Virginia picked up their first conference win as they defeated TCU 3 sets to 2 sets. The first two sets went overtime as TCU won 30-28 in the 1st set and WV won 34-32 in the 2nd set. After a TCU win in the 3rd set, WV won the 4th and 5th sets.
- Kansas State played UCF tough in Orlando as the Knights won the match 3 sets to 2 sets. K-State won their two sets 25-18 and 25-16 over the undefeated Knights.
- BYU held serve at home as they defeated Texas Tech 3 sets to 0 sets with both teams in the 20's in two of the sets.
- One match remains to be played today with Texas playing at Houston. Texas should be favored, but if Houston won one set on Friday night, another set win or two or three might be possible in an upset over Texas.
Current Big 12 Standings are:
T-1st - Texas - 7-0 and 12-3 overall.
T-1st - UCF - 7-0 and 16-2 overall.
3rd - BYU - 5-2 and 16-3 overall.
4th - Iowa State - 4-2 and 13-4 overall.
5th - TCU - 5-3 and 12-7 overall.
T-6th - Baylor - 4-3 and 10-7 overall.
T-6th - Kansas - 4-3 and 13-4 overall.
8th - Kansas State - 4-4 and 10-7 overall.
9th - Houston - 2-4 and 9-6 overall.
10th - Cincinnati - 2-5 and 9-8 overall.
11th - West Virginia - 1-6 and 8-12 overall.
12th - Texas Tech - 1-7 and 8-12 overall.
13th - Oklahoma - 0-7 and 6-10 overall.
Here is the Big 12 VB schedule for the upcoming week:
Wed - Oct 18: - Texas at TCU = Texas should be favored.
Thursday - Oct 19: Cincinnati at West Virginia - Kansas State at Oklahoma - Iowa State at BYU = All 3 of these matches could be close. The I-State/BYU match will be interesting.
Friday - Oct 20: Cincinnati at West Virginia - Kansas State at Oklahoma - Iowa State at BYU - Houston at Texas Tech = Again. the first 3 of these matches could be close. The I-State/BYU match will be interesting a second time. I think that Houston should be favored over Tech.
Saturday - Oct 21: Houston at Texas Tech - UCF at Baylor = Houston id favored over Tech. In another interesting match, UCF tries to keep it going at Baylor and might be favored to win.
Sunday Oct 22: UCF at Baylor - Kansas at TCU = I think UCF is favored over Baylor. The Kansas TCU match should be interesting also.
- On the road, Texas defeated Houston 3 sets to 1 set. Houston picked up a 25-17 win in the 2nd set.
- West Virginia picked up their first conference win as they defeated TCU 3 sets to 2 sets. The first two sets went overtime as TCU won 30-28 in the 1st set and WV won 34-32 in the 2nd set. After a TCU win in the 3rd set, WV won the 4th and 5th sets.
- Kansas State played UCF tough in Orlando as the Knights won the match 3 sets to 2 sets. K-State won their two sets 25-18 and 25-16 over the undefeated Knights.
- BYU held serve at home as they defeated Texas Tech 3 sets to 0 sets with both teams in the 20's in two of the sets.
- One match remains to be played today with Texas playing at Houston. Texas should be favored, but if Houston won one set on Friday night, another set win or two or three might be possible in an upset over Texas.
Current Big 12 Standings are:
T-1st - Texas - 7-0 and 12-3 overall.
T-1st - UCF - 7-0 and 16-2 overall.
3rd - BYU - 5-2 and 16-3 overall.
4th - Iowa State - 4-2 and 13-4 overall.
5th - TCU - 5-3 and 12-7 overall.
T-6th - Baylor - 4-3 and 10-7 overall.
T-6th - Kansas - 4-3 and 13-4 overall.
8th - Kansas State - 4-4 and 10-7 overall.
9th - Houston - 2-4 and 9-6 overall.
10th - Cincinnati - 2-5 and 9-8 overall.
11th - West Virginia - 1-6 and 8-12 overall.
12th - Texas Tech - 1-7 and 8-12 overall.
13th - Oklahoma - 0-7 and 6-10 overall.
Here is the Big 12 VB schedule for the upcoming week:
Wed - Oct 18: - Texas at TCU = Texas should be favored.
Thursday - Oct 19: Cincinnati at West Virginia - Kansas State at Oklahoma - Iowa State at BYU = All 3 of these matches could be close. The I-State/BYU match will be interesting.
Friday - Oct 20: Cincinnati at West Virginia - Kansas State at Oklahoma - Iowa State at BYU - Houston at Texas Tech = Again. the first 3 of these matches could be close. The I-State/BYU match will be interesting a second time. I think that Houston should be favored over Tech.
Saturday - Oct 21: Houston at Texas Tech - UCF at Baylor = Houston id favored over Tech. In another interesting match, UCF tries to keep it going at Baylor and might be favored to win.
Sunday Oct 22: UCF at Baylor - Kansas at TCU = I think UCF is favored over Baylor. The Kansas TCU match should be interesting also.
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