Sooners Set for NCAA Tournament First Round

NORMAN – The Oklahoma volleyball team opens the 2024 NCAA Tournament Friday afternoon in the Pittsburgh Regional. The Sooners will face UTEP at 3 p.m. CT in their first round matchup.

Pittsburgh, seeded No. 1 overall in the tournament field, hosts Morehead State in the other first round matchup. The winners of the two first round matches will face off in the second round on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 6 p.m. CT.

Date: Friday, Nov. 6
Time: 3 p.m. CT
Opponent: UTEP
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: NCAA Stats

DANCING AGAIN
For the first time since 2019, the Sooners are back in the NCAA Tournament. This is the 13^th overall appearance in program history. The Sooners, who will be making their first appearance under Mansfield, are 10-12 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. Oklahoma made its first trip to the NCAA tournament in 1987 and has advanced to the Sweet 16 three times (1988, 2006, 2010), with an Elite Eight appearance in 1988.

The Sooners are UTEP have faced off just one time in program history with the Sooners winning 3-0 in El Paso, Texas, in 2015. OU has faced Morehead State twice, in 1993 and 2003, and have split the series and has faced host Pittsburgh just once, falling 3-1 in 2018.

ALL-SEC HONORS
Alexis Shelton, Kari Geissberger and Lydia Martyn earned SEC honors as the league announced its postseason awards on Dec. 1. In the Sooners first year in the league, Shelton was named to the first team, while Geissberger and Martyn were each honored on the second team. The trio helped lead the Sooners to a 14-10 overall record and 8-8 conference record, with wins over then-No. 9 Texas and then-No. 20 Tennessee.

Shelton had a dominant inaugural year in the SEC, finishing with double-digit kills in every single match of the season, including a season-best 27 in a win over then-No. 9 Texas for which she was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week. The Charlotte, N.C., native leads Oklahoma with 4.40 kills/set, good for fifth in the league. Shelton also leads the team with 5.05 per set, good for fourth in the SEC.

In her lone season with the Sooners, graduate transfer Geissberger made an immediate impact on the squad. Geissberger ranks second on the team with a .313 season hitting percentage and has recorded at least a .300 percentage in 14 matches. Against K-State, she notched a season best .667 clip with eight kills on 12 attempts and no errors.
After joining the Sooners in 2023, Martyn had a breakout year for Oklahoma in her final season in the Crimson and Cream. Leading the team with a .356 hitting percentage and 113 total blocks, Martyn eclipsed both 500 career blocks and 1,000 career kills in 2024.

LAST TIME OUT
OU closed out the regular season with a four-set (22-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-23) victory over Arkansas on Nov. 27. Graduate Lydia Martyn reached a special milestone, hitting the 1,000-kill mark in the third set. This is the second major milestone of the year for Martyn as she reached 500 blocks earlier this season. She finished the match with 10 kills on a .450 clip to go with seven digs and two blocks. Alexis Shelton extended her double-digit kill streak to 29 matches with 19 kills on the night. Hannah Pfiffner led the team with a .476 hitting percentage and 10 kills with zero errors. Kari Geissberger added nine kills on the night to go with two aces, two digs and a block.

MARTYN MILESTONE
On Nov. 27, Lydia Martyn reached an impressive milestone as she recorded her 1,000th career kill. The graduate student is one of just six active D1 players who have recorded 1,000 kills and 500 blocks. Only two others are also competing in the NCAA Tournament – Sarah Barham (Wichita State) and Onye Ofoegbu (Oregon). Martyn currently sits at 520 blocks and 1,006 kills.

WELCOME TO THE BLOCK PARTY
The Sooners defense has been a force to be reckoned with this season, ranking 9th nationally and first in the SEC with 2.80 blocks/set. OU has recorded at least 7.0 blocks in 22 of 24 matches 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
Payton Chamberlain is third in assists/set with 10.33, while Alexis Shelton is fifth in kills/set at 4.40. Lydia Martyn is sixth in blocks/set at 1.18 and 10^th in hitting percentage with a .356 mark. KJ Burgess ranks ninth in blocks/set with 1.09. As a team, the Sooners are first in blocks with 2.80 per set, fifth in assists (12.77/set), sixth in hitting percentage (.262) and seventh in kills (13.28/set).

THE OPPOSITION
UTEP: The 2024 UTEP squad made history with the first-ever NCAA Tournament At-Large bid for the program. The Miners have posted a 27-5 overall record, highlighted by historic performances, including becoming the fastest team in NCAA Division I to reach 20 wins this season and achieving a program-best 38 RPI ranking. UTEP is one of two Conference USA schools to punch their ticket to the Big Dance, joining regular season and tournament champion WKU. Additionally, the Miners are one of only two programs in this year's field making their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, alongside Chicago State.

NO. 1 PITTSBURGH: After finishing the season 29-1 and 19-1 in ACC play, Pitt earned its third-straight ACC Championship en route to the No. 1 overall seed in this year's tournament. The lone blemish on the Panther's resume was a 3-2 loss to SMU in October. All seven of Pitt's starters we're named to the All-ACC team, while head coach Dan Fisher (Coach of the Year) and Rachel Fairbanks (Player of the Year) earned major honors.

MOREHEAD STATE: The Eagles finished the year with an 18-14 record overall, 12-6 in Ohio Valley Conference play. This marks the fourth appearance for Morehead State in the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles also appeared in the field in 2011, 2013 and 2020. The last appearance was notable in that Morehead State got their first NCAA tournament win; a five-set victory over host Creighton in Omaha, Neb.

LOOKING AHEAD
The winner of the first round matchup between Oklahoma and UTEP will advance to Saturday's regional final to face the winner of Pittsburgh/Morehead State. That match is set for 6 p.m. CT.

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