Volleyball Set for Regular Season Finale at Arkansas

NORMAN – The Oklahoma volleyball team is set for the regular season finale Wednesday, Nov. 27, at Arkansas. The match is slated for a 6 p.m. CT start inside Barnhill Arena in Fayetteville, Ark.

This is the second of two matches this season between the Sooners and Razorbacks. Arkansas claimed the 3-1 victory in Norman on Oct. 6.

Date: Wednesday, Nov. 27
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Opponent: Arkansas
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Live Stats: Statbroadcast

WEEKEND RECAP
The Sooners went 1-1 over the weekend, dropping a three-set match to No. 14 Texas before turning around and taking down Auburn, 3-1. Against Texas, in front of a record crowd of 3,325 fans, Alexis Shelton led all Sooners with 14 kills on the night, her 27th-straight match in double digit figures. On the night, she hit a team-best .324. The junior was also just two digs shy of a double-double, recording eight on the night. Whitney Wallace notched 10 digs on the night to lead the team, while Payton Chamberlain added 24 assists.
On Sunday, the Sooners sent their seniors out with a win, securing the 25-20,25-18, 20-25, 25-19 victory over Auburn inside McCasland Field House.

The ending of the match was a storybook moment as fifth-year senior Kelsey Carrington entered the game for the first time with match point on the line. Carrington came up big with a kill to secure the win for the Sooners. All six seniors made major impacts on the match. Kari Geissberger notched 16 kills on a .400 clip to go with a team-best seven blocks. Lydia Martyn tallied eight kills to go with five blocks and added a service ace. Daleigh Ellison also tallied eight kills, along with two blocks. Chamberlain notched a double-double with 50 assists and 10 digs. Callie Kemohah recorded 18 digs and was just shy of a double-double with nine assists.

MARTYN MILESTONE
Graduate Lydia Martyn is closing in on her second milestone of the season. After picking up eight kills in Sunday's match against Auburn, Martyn is now just four kills away from reaching 1,000 in her career. With a 2.01 kills/set rate, Martyn has a strong chance of reaching 1,000 in Wednesday's match. She would join teammate Alexis Shelton as Sooners to reach the 1,000 kill mark this season.

WELCOME TO THE BLOCK PARTY
The Sooners defense has been a force to be reckoned with this season, ranking 8th nationally and first in the SEC with 2.85 blocks/set. OU has recorded at least 7.0 blocks in all but one match this season and reached the double-digit mark on 13 occasions. Against Tulsa on Sept. 13, the Sooners put up an impressive 20.0 blocks, the most by a Sooner squad since tallying 19.0 against Kansas State in 2020. Against Texas on Nov. 3, the Sooners tallied 16.5 blocks, the most Texas has allowed all season. On Nov. 10 at Mississippi State, the Sooners notched 18.0 blocks, the second most by any team in SEC play this season.

STATS & RANKINGS
Multiple Sooners are ranked in their respective strengths in the SEC. Alexis Shelton ranks 5^th in kills/set with 4.38, while Payton Chamberlain ranks 5^th in assists with 10.24/set. Lydia Martyn is fourth in blocks with 1.21/set. In conference matches only, Martyn is fifth in hitting percentage (.379), Chamberlain is fifth in assists (10.02/set) and Kelli Jo Burgess is ninth in blocks (1.07/set).

STELLAR SHELTON
After missing the final two matches of the 2023 season due to injury, junior Alexis Shelton has picked up where she left off, recording double-digit kills in every match this season. Shelton has now recorded 28 consecutive matches with double-digit kills going back to the 2023 season. In her last 47 games, she has reached the double-digit kill mark on 44 occasions. The junior has notched eight 20-plus kill games this season and recorded 15 kills or more in 15 matches. Against Texas on Nov. 3, she posted a season-high 27 kills. Shelton also ranks second on the team in digs with 188 and second in blocks with 82, proving herself to be quite the all-around player.

THE OPPOSITION
ARKANSAS: The Razorbacks are 16-11 on the season and 6-9 in conference action. This is the second of two matches this season between the Sooners and Razorbacks. Arkansas claimed the 3-1 victory in Norman on Oct. 6. Arkansas is coming off a 3-0 loss to Kentucky on Sunday where senior setter Hannah Hogue recorded 24 assists, putting her at 3,013 in her career. She is the sixth-ever Razorback to record 3,000+ assists, and now has 966 on the season.

LOOKING AHEAD
The NCAA Tournament selection show is set for Sunday, Dec. 1, at 5 p.m. CT. Should the Sooners be selected, they will play in the first round Dec. 5-6.

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