Sooners Host Arkansas Wednesday Night

NORMAN – The second match of a four-game homestand for the Oklahoma volleyball team is set for Wednesday night inside McCasland Field House as the Sooners welcome the Arkansas Razorbacks to Norman.
Wednesday's match will air on SEC Network at 6 p.m. CT with Alex Loeb and Shelby Coppedge on the call.

LOOK BACK AT IT
The Sooners dropped a tough four-set match, 21-25, 25-19, 20-25, 17-25, Sunday afternoon to Auburn inside the Field House. Alexis Shelton and Kamille Gibson led the Sooners with 13 kills apiece, while Emoni Bush added 11. The trio were also strong defensively, as Bush tallied nine digs, Gibson recorded seven and Shelton tallied six with four blocks. Avaya Maga had her second consecutive 40-assist match with 42 on the day for a career high. The freshman also added eight digs, two aces and one block. Kelli Jo Burgess led the defense with four blocks and chipped in six kills.

WELCOME TO THE BLOCK PARTY
The Sooners defense has been a force to be reckoned with this season, especially in league action. In conference games only, the Sooners are No. 1 in blocks/set with 2.83. OU leads the SEC in total blocks with 113.0 and is second in solo blocks with 25. Burgess is third in league play with 1.50 blocks/set but leads the conference as the only player with double-digit solo blocks (12) and 60 total blocks. The Sooners have recorded at least 6.0 blocks in every match this season, with a season high of 16.5 against South Carolina. In eight matches, OU has put up double-digit blocks with five of those coming against conference opponents. OU's 13.5 blocks against Texas were the second-most allowed blocks by the Longhorns.

ALL EYES ON ALEXIS
Senior Alexis Shelton was named to the preseason watch list for the AVCA's 2025 Division I Player of the Year Award, presented by Nike Volleyball. Shelton leads the Sooners this season with 300 kills across 78 sets played, averaging 3.85 kills/set. She has added six service aces, 109 digs and 58 blocks to her season stats.

After becoming the 15^th Sooner to reach 1,000 kills, Shelton has climbed into the top 10 in program history and currently sits in seventh with 1,418. She is now the all-time kills leader in the 25-point rally scoring era and is the first Sooner since Kierra Holst in 2015 to break into the top 10 all-time. Shelton needs just two kills to move into sixth, the highest spot she can realistically reach in her career. If she can record 66 kills in her final six matches, Shelton will hold three spots in the top 10 for kills in a single season.

THE KELLI JO SHOW
Redshirt junior Kelli Jo Burgess is quietly having the best season of her career. In 2024, Burgess tallied 78 kills in 21 matches and just one match with more than 10 kills. This season, Burgess has 145 kills and four double-digit performances. The Lehi, Utah, native, hit .238 in 2024 and is hitting .444 on 254 attempts this season.

Burgess is on pace to set not only the single-season hitting percentage record, but the all-time percentage record. The current single-season record, set in 2013 by Sallie McLaurin, is .423, and only two players have ever hit over .400 in a career in the 25-point rally scoring era. McLaurin also holds the all-time record with a .363 career hitting percentage. Burgess is currently hitting .382 in just two seasons at OU, but needs to average 8.67 attempts per match in her final six games to be eligible.

On the defensive side, Burgess has tallied 99.0 blocks through 20 games. Her 9.0 blocks against South Carolina on Oct. 10 were a career best. Burgess is the current team leader in blocks, averaging 1.27 per set. She has 37 more blocks than the next closest athlete and leads the team with 16 solo blocks.

STATS & RANKINGS
Burgess represents the Sooners nationally, sitting in fourth in hitting percentage at .444. Burgess is the highest ranked Power 4 athlete and sits atop the SEC rankings. In the SEC, she is also fifth in blocks with 1.27 per set. Bush is ranked in the SEC, sitting at No. 7 with 0.33 aces per set. In conference matches only, Burgess is third in hitting percentage (.420) and blocks/set (1.50), while Shelton is ninth in points (4.75/set). As a team, the Sooners are No. 5 in the SEC with 2.54 blocks/set and 1.58 aces/set in all games. In conference play, the Sooners are No. 1 in blocks (2.83/set) and No. 3 in aces (1.40).

ACES ARE HIGH
In 2024, the Sooners recorded 114 service aces over 26 matches with just one match in double-digits. This season, OU has tallied 123 aces with four double-digit performances. OU posted back-to-back matches with at least 10 aces against Vanderbilt and Missouri. The Sooners have recorded at least one ace in 19 of 20 matches this season and at least five in 13 matches. Bush leads the team with 26 on the season, followed by Tekoa Barnes with 22. Bush now sits in eighth for aces in a single season. Against Central Arkansas, Harper Hall recorded an incredible five aces in a row, a number that leads the nation for consecutive aces.

SET IT UP
Freshman Avaya Maga has made an immediate impact at setter for the Sooners, notching 15 20-plus assist games on the year, five 30-plus assist games and two 40-plus assist games. Maga tallied a season and career high 42 assists against Auburn on Oct. 26 and currently has 516 on the season. Against Florida, Maga also recorded her first career double-double with 40 assists and 15 digs. Her 126 digs rank second on the team.

SEC CHAMPIONSHIP SOON
The SEC will relaunch the SEC Volleyball Championship this season, slated to take place November 21-25, 2025 at Enmarket Arena. Currently, the Sooners are tied for ninth in league action with Mississippi State, who they face next week. If the tournament started tomorrow, OU would be either the ninth or 10^th seed, facing Arkansas or Vanderbilt. OU is two games behind eighth seed Missouri, but holds the tiebreaker with a head-to-head win, should they pull even with the Tigers. Teams seeded 1-4 receive a double-bye, while teams 5-8 receive a first-round bye.

SERIES HISTORY
ARKANSAS: The Sooners and Razorbacks will meet for the tenth time on Wednesday with OU holding a closet 5-4 advantage in the series. The teams split their results in 2024 with Arkansas winning 3-1 in Norman and Oklahoma winning 3-1 in Fayetteville. OU has won five of the last six meetings, dating back to 2010.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Sooners have an off weekend before returning to the court for the final two home matches of the season on Nov. 5 against Mississippi State and Nov. 7 against Alabama.

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LOOKING AHEAD

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Players Mentioned

Tekoa Barnes

Kelli Jo Burgess

Emoni Bush

Kamille Gibson

Harper Hall

Avaya Maga

Alexis Shelton

Sponsors

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