Volleyball Opens 2025 Season at Wildcat Classic

NORMAN – The 2025 Oklahoma volleyball season kicks off at the Wildcat Classic in Abilene, Texas, Aug. 29-30. The season begins at 1:30 p.m. on Friday as the Sooners take on Missouri State, followed by a 4 p.m. clash with Incarnate Word. OU closes out the tournament on Saturday with a 3 p.m. battle against host Abilene Christian.

Date: Friday, Aug. 29
Time: 1:30 p.m. | 4 p.m.
Opponents: Missouri State | Incarnate Word
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
MoState Stream: WAC International
UIW Stream: WAC International

Date: Saturday, Aug. 30
Time: 3 p.m. CT
Opponent: Abilene Christian
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
TV: ESPN+

ROAD WARRIORS
Non-conference play will see OU stepping away from Norman for six of its ten matches. The Sooners will start their 2025 campaign with five straight matches at road or neutral site venues. After opening weekend in Abilene, OU will head to Fayetteville, Ark., for two matches at the Wooo Pig Invitational. After a four-game home swing, the Sooners will wrap up non-conference play at Central Arkansas on Sept. 21.

PUT US ON THE BIG SCREEN
Oklahoma volleyball will be featured in six nationally televised matches during the 2025 season. This year's Red River Rivalry will air on ESPN on Sunday, Oct. 19, at 7:30 p.m. CT as the Sooners take on the Longhorns in Austin. Last season, OU topped Texas for the first time since 2014 in a five-set thriller on the Longhorn's home court.

Five other matches will air on SEC Network throughout the season, featuring four from McCasland Field House. First is a Wednesday night battle with Florida State in the SEC/ACC Showdown at the Net on Sept. 10. The Sooners will also face Ole Miss (Sept. 28), Auburn (Oct. 26) and Arkansas (Oct. 29) on the network. The season finale at Tennessee on Nov. 16 will air on SEC Network at noon CT.
For the first time in two decades, the Southeastern Conference will once again host a conference tournament, which will air in its entirety on SEC Network/SEC Network+.

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. A 2024 third-team All-American, Shelton had a breakout junior season as she led the team with 455 kills and 4.38 kills/set. With double-digit kills in every meet of the season, including a season-best 27 against Texas, she extended her streak to 31 consecutive matches with at least 10 kills.
Shelton reached the 1,000-kill mark in 2024, the 15th Sooner to achieve the feat. Her 1,118 career kills are good for 14th all-time. The list will be narrowed down to semifinalists in November, after a midseason addition in October. The names of the finalists will be released in December, with the AVCA Player of the Year announcement occurring on Dec. 19 at the ACA Awards Banquet in Kansas City.

GUESS WHO'S BACK
The Sooners return seven athletes from the 2024 NCAA Tournament squad, including starters Alexis Shelton, Kelli Jo Burgess and Whitney Wallace, along with Kamille Gibson, Jasmine Ellison, Sydney Thompson and Carley Butler. Shelton powered the offense with a team-leading 455 kills in 2024, while Gibson added 227 in 86 sets played. Burgess, who hit a perfect 1.000 against TAMU-CC, returns to anchor a defense that led the SEC in blocks per set in 2024. Burgess notched 82 blocks last season, a number that ranks second among returners. Wallace was a defensive staple, starting 18 matches and notching 137 digs on the season.

SEC VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP RETURNS
The SEC will relaunch the SEC Volleyball Championship this season and has signed a three-year agreement to host the event at Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Georgia. The 2025 SEC Volleyball Championship is slated to take place on November 21-25, 2025 at Enmarket Arena. The SEC Volleyball Championship previously took place from 1979 to 2005.

THE OPPOSITION
MISSOURI STATE: The Bears were picked to finish ninth in the Conference USA preseason poll, in their inaugural season in the 12-team league. Former members of the Missouri Valley Conference, MoState was 13-19 overall and 6-12 in conference play in 2024. The Bears return top-hitter Rilynn Finley who notched 373 kills as a freshman.

INCARNATE WORD: The Cardinals are coming off a historic 2024 with the most wins overall (17) and the most conference wins (10) in a single season since turning Division I in 2013. Just like the Sooners last season, UIW played its entire non-conference schedule on the road, going 7-3. Setter Calissa Allison was the Cardinals' lone All-Conference selection after she led the Cardinals in kills (276), points (318), and service aces (24). The freshman Co-captain finished the season with 11 triple-doubles, good enough for second in the country.

ABILENE CHRISTIAN: The Wildcats were 10-18 in 2024 with a 5-11 mark in conference play in 2024. In the offseason, ACU added redshirt freshman libero Brennan Ramirez from the University of Texas, sophomore middle blocker Erika Gustafson from Montana State, junior outside hitter Aubrey Beaver from Cal State-Fullerton and freshman outside hitter Aliyah Jowers from Abilene Wylie High School.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Sooners will travel to Fayetteville, Ark., for the Wooo Pig Invitational, Sept. 5-6. OU will face Tulsa and Cal Poly in the two-day tournament.

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