Shelton Powers Sooners to Reverse Sweep of No. 21 Missouri

Sunday, October 5

Columbia, Mo.

2:00 PM

University of Oklahoma

11-3,3-1SEC

Missouri

9-6,1-3SEC

Oklahoma

Missouri

Shelton Powers Sooners to Reverse Sweep of No. 21 Missouri

October 05, 2025 | Volleyball

Box Score

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Oklahoma volleyball team put it in reverse and pulled off an incredible five-set victory over No. 21 Missouri, 28-30, 21-25, 25-20, 25-21, 15-9, Sunday afternoon inside the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo.

Down 2-0 and on the verge of being swept, the Sooners (11-3, 3-1) fought back to take down their first ranked opponent of the season and pick up their first win in Columbia since 2010. The loss dropped Missouri to 9-6 and 1-3 in SEC play.

As a team, the Sooners broke or tied three five-set program records. The 76 kills and .401 hitting percentage were both program records, while the 72 assists tied the current record.

Alexis Shelton was the star of the show, notching a season-high 25 kills on an impressive .564 clip. Shelton made just three errors on 39 swings while adding three aces, five digs and four blocks. The 25 kills bumped her career total to 1,314 and moved her to ninth all-time in OU history.

Emoni Bush added 18 kills on a .361 clip with five blocks, while Kelli Jo Burgess chipped in nine kills at a .533 pace with six blocks. After being sidelined with an injury through non-conference play, Alyssa Flack made her collegiate debut with nine kills and a .333 hitting percentage.

At setter, Avaya Maga and Harper Hall each hit the 30-plus assist mark with 37 and 31, respectively. Hall also added seven digs and two aces.

A tightly contested first set went the way of Missouri, 30-28, after 18 ties and nine lead changes. Both teams hit over .400 in the set as the Sooners were led by seven kills on nine swings from Shelton. Missouri led 15-14 at the first timeout and the teams continued to trade points with the Tigers being the first to 20 at 20-19. The 10th tie of the set came from Shelton's sixth kill of the game and Barnes' second ace of the day put OU in front 22-21. Missouri took a 23-22 lead before an ace from Shelton gave the Sooners set point at 24-23. The Tigers fought off set point, setting up the two squads to trade set points until Missouri closed it out with an ace at 30-28.

Missouri took set two, 25-21, but not without a valiant late effort from the Sooners. Down 23-13, OU put together a 4-0 run to force a late Missouri timeout. Out of the timeout, OU extended its run to pull within three at 23-20. The Sooners fought off a pair of set points but ultimately dropped the set.

OU stayed alive with a 25-20 win in the third set. The Tigers took a 7-4 lead before the Sooners came back within one at 9-8. A 6-0 run had the Sooners in front 15-12 at the media timeout. Out of the break, the Tigers used a 3-0 run to tie the game. With Missouri up 16-15, a challenge from head coach Aaron Mansfield flipped the score and allowed the Sooners to move ahead 17-15. Another run from the Sooners pushed the lead to 20-16 and forced Missouri to call timeout. Two kills from Burgess sparked the Sooners to a five-point advantage and Flack sealed the win.

The Sooners took set four 25-21. Missouri led at the media timeout, 15-14, after 11 ties and seven lead changes. OU was the first to 20, with a one-point lead, after Bush's 16th kill of the night. The 10th block of the night put the Sooners up 23-21. OU closed out a 4-0 run with back-to-back blocks to force set five.

The fifth set started with a 3-0 run from Oklahoma. Missouri pulled within one at 4-3, but OU pushed its lead back out to three to force a Tigers timeout. Shelton dropped three-straight points for OU with a kill and back-to-back aces to make it 9-4. At 14-7, Missouri fought off two match points, but Shelton was there with her 25th kill to secure the victory.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Sooners return to McCasland Field House for a pair of conference battles with South Carolina on Friday, Oct. 10 and Georgia on Sunday, Oct. 12.

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