Sooner Women's Volleyball Opens Big12 Play on Saturday in Austin

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Sooner Women's Volleyball Opens Big12 Play on Saturday in Austin

Post by OUBeliever56A »

The much improved Oklahoma Sooner Volleyball Squad travel to Austin on Saturday night @ 7 PM to face Austin in their opening Big 12 match of 2022. The Sooners will take their best record (10-2) in years into Austin to face the 9-0 Longhorns who are ranked #1 in the country (almost unanimously).

Here is the staff writers article about the OU-Texas Matchup.

https://soonersports.com/news/2022/9/22 ... er-rivalry

Texas has won 27 out of 32 sets that they have played this season. By contrast the Sooners have won 33 out of 42 sets that they have played this season. But in their last six matches the Sooners have won 18 of 19 sets that they have played. In Texas' opening Big 12 Match with Kansas (10-3) on Wednesday night in Lawrence, KS, Texas did drop 2 sets to the Jayhawks as they won 3-2 sets.

The Sooners, in 2022, has demonstrated that they have the hitting power and a diverse offense that can provide as many as 4 attackers on the floor to make the opposing team to decide where where along the net that they will defend on any point.
Four sophomores have led the way for the Sooners in 2022.
- Megan Wilson (OH) has played very well as she has improved her all-around play. Her Serve is among the best for the Sooners. She has also stayed on the court by playing enough defense to play the back row in 2022. Her attack game has improved also. She leads the team with 5.05 points/game and her .289 hitting % is improved over 2021.
- Callie Kemohah (Libero) has also improved her play in 2022. She is the heart-and-soul of the Sooner defensive game as she patrols the back row taking a majority of all serves and often producing impressive digs against powerful kill shots from above the net. she also has a strong service game and helps with sets when needed.
- Peyton Dunn (Setter) started the first 6 matches of the season and played well as she did in 2021. Since the West Coast swing she has only played 1 set of 19 sets leading up the big 12 season. Dunn has expanded her ability to set to different locations on the floor with the improved offensive game for the Sooners.
- Payton Chamberlain (Setter) has arrived in Norman after a year at Wyoming. The Texas native, has started the last 18 of 19 sets for the Sooners. Like Dunn, she has distributed the ball very well around the floor to all six points of attack for the Sooners. Chamberlain's serve may be the better serve between her and Dunn however. I also think Chamberlain does a better job on the block when she is on the front row in defense. Either Dunn or Chamberlain are able to lead the offense for the Sooners.

Four Freshman have made a huge impact on the Sooners in 2022. Her is a recap of these players.
- Morgan Perkins (MB) has walked into McCasland Field House and set up residence in the middle of the net. She is a very strong blocker on defense as well as a strong, quick kill-game in the middle of the offense. Perkins is a quiet very effective MB for the Sooners who needed someone to fill that role in 2022. Perkins is averaging 2.34 P/S with a .403 Kill% and 1.44 Blocks per set.
- Taylor Preston (OH) has also solidified herself as a starter for the Sooners. Shelton is an all-around player who also serves and plays the back row for the Sooners while being a dominant, powerful player at the net. Preston is averaging 3.62 P/S and 0.50 Blocks per set.
- Alexis Shelton (OH) has also been in the starting lineup most of the time as her aggressive play has been on display. Shelton is in-rotation playing the front line and sometimes entering the back row for offense. Shelton has averaged 3.35 P/S with a .324 Kill% and 0.42 Blocks per set.
- Chloe Kaminski (DS/Serve) has played in every set for the Sooners as a Server and Defensive Specialist along the back row. Her serve is very effective and has lead to several runs for points during her serve. She has also been strong in her return and dig play for the Sooners. She is a solid starter for the Sooners.

Five other players have seen steady playing time for the Sooners.
- Adria Oliver (MB) has returned after an ankle issue on the West Coast trip. Oliver has played in 25 sets and averaged 2.0 P/s with a Kill% of .308 and 1.0 Block per set. the 5th-YR Senior has been a vocal leader on the floor for the Sooners.
- Kelsey Carrington (MB) replaced Oliver during her injury. Carrington has made the most of her play as she has played in 19 sets while scoring 1.58 P/S with a .519 Kill% and 1.53 Blocks per set. Either Oliver of Carrington could start as the 2nd MB for the Sooners against Texas.
- Savannah Davison (OH) has played a variety of roles for the Sooners in 2022. She was a starter early but lately she is a replacement player that can add a spark to the Sooners. she has played in 23 sets while scoring 2.83 P/S with a Kill% of .205 and 0.61 Blocks per set. Davison also serves and plays the back row well. Davison gives the Sooners a very strong 4th OH for the Sooners when needed.
- Grace Talpash (Server/DS) and Sydney Thompson (Server/DS) has played in 31 and 18 sets respectively in 2022. Both have played well in the last rotation spot for the Sooners. Thompson (FR) may earn more playing time as the season continues.

The much improved Sooners do have a shot to pull an upset on Saturday night against Texas. But the challenge is a big one. While the Sooners have displayed a stronger service game in 2022, their serves against Texas needs to be very strong and not give away points on service errors. The Sooners will need to consistently side-out against the Texas service game. The Sooners have to play very strong defense against the Longhorns. Eggleston (#33) leads Texas with over 5 points a set as the Longhorn offense goes through her. Six other Longhorns also score 1.89 points per game or better so they can score points from several locations on the floor.

The Sooners will have to be resilient against Texas. Good luck to the Sooners on Saturday.

Boomer Sooner!
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Post by OUBeliever56A »

It sounds like Coach Gray-Walton has last nights match with Texas in perspective as she said "That's a hard first environment for a lot of our freshmen to be competing in, but I thought we settled in and started to compete, but we still have a lot to get better at."

Here is the staff writers article about last night loss to Texas in Austin.

https://soonersports.com/news/2022/9/24 ... no-1-texas

The Sooners lost last night in 3 sets by the scores of 20-25, 21-25 and 18-25. It is the first time in 2022 that the Sooners have been swept in 3 sets.

I did see the play last night but from the box scores it does look like the service game and receive errors did play a part in the Sooners loss. The Sooners had 12 service errors in the 3 sets against only 3 service aces. Texas had 7 service aces and 7 errors. That is 9 points that Texas won over the Sooners. The Sooners also committed 7 receive errors on serves against only 3 for Texas. With those 4 points difference, Texas outscored OU 13 points right there. With a 16-point total deficit in three sets, the 13 points lost in those two errors is large.

The other thing that I noticed was that Oklahoma only had 2 solo blocks (Perkins) and 2 assisted blocks for 4 points in the 3 sets. Coming into the match OU had averaged 1.1 solo and 21.9 assisted blocks for 17+ points per match in their first 10 matches.

Megan Wilson did lead the Sooners with 12.5 points as Preston followed with 9, Shelton with 8 and Perkins with 6. Texas had 6 players with 7.5 points or more as they were lead by O'Neal with 15 points and Eggleston with 11. After their win over Oklahoma, Texas is now 2-0 in the Big 12 and 10-0 overall. OU drops to 0-1 in the Big 12 and 10-3 overall.

This match was going to be a tough match for Oklahoma as they are playing 4 freshman and 3 sophomores full time. I see from the box score that Adria Oliver returned to the starting lineup taking the spot of Kelsey Carrington who played well while Oliver was injured. Payton Chamberlain also remined in the Setters role for the Sooners. The Sooner played 10 players in the match with only Sydney Thompson seeing action in Set #2. The other nine players were players that have been in the normal rotation most of the season.

This was a learning experience for the Sooners and should enable them to understand the goal of their future play in the Big 12. Texas is very good.

The Sooners return to McCasland Field House to play two matches this week. On Wednesday they play Kansas at 6 PM. On Saturday they play West Virginia at 1 PM. Kansas is 1-1 and 9-5 overall as they lost to Texas in 5 sets and defeated Kansas State in 5 sets. West Virginia 0-1 in the Big 12 and 6-7 overall.

Boomer Sooner!
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Post by OUBeliever56A »

I found this video of last nights 2nd set between OU and Texas.



It is a good watch. OU was up early and Texas just continued to attack against OU. The play at the net is way above the net.

Playing strong defense against Texas is very important. If you give them an easy ball to play, they are going to pound the ball at you every time. OU seemed to have a difficult time handling the middle sets in this video. But the sets and kills were top notch by Texas.

Another thing I will add is this. I am envious of the Texas crowd and environment for them in their arena. Their crowd was large and very into the match. I truly hope the Sooners and Coach Gray-Walton can build the Sooner fan base into that type of an atmosphere. Sooner the Better.

Boomer Sooner!
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