University of Oklahoma Athletics

NORMAN – The Sooners will play in two games at the MH Hospitality Omaha Challenge in Omaha, Nebraska, on September 6-7. OU will open the tournament on Friday at 6:00 p.m. CT against Drake, followed by a Saturday matinee against host Omaha on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. CT. Both games will be played at PLACE on the UNO campus.

WEEKEND SUMMARY
OU went 1-1 in its opening week, losing a four-set match to TCU on opening night, then rebounded with a four-set win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

The Sooners opened the 2024 season with a 3-1 (23-25, 21-25, 25-21,16-25) defeat against TCU. OU led the Frogs in most categories, including kills (53-47), assists (51-46), digs (51-48) and blocks (9-6).

Youth Alexis Shelton Powered the offense with 21 kills. Freshman Camille Gibson Added 10 kills in first match as a Sooner, transferred after graduation Karl Geissberger chip in nine. Senior Payton Chamberlain She had 43 assists on the night and came close to a double-double with 8 digs.

Kelli Jo Burgess On August 31, the Sooners posted a perfect 1.000 hits and a total of 67 points in a 3–1 victory over Texas A&M–Corpus Christi. After losing the first set 30–28, the Sooners won the next three sets 25–17, 25–11, 25–21 to get their first win of the season.

Youth Alexis Shelton He displayed a dynamic performance in the attack with 25 points, 9 digs and 4 blocks. Lydia Martin She added 12 kills and seven blocks in an impressive showing. Senior Payton Chamberlain She had 39 assists and nine digs, leaving her one dig shy of a double-double. Junior Leah Wilton-Laboy had 16 assists in the final set. As a team, the Sooners batted . 379 and tied a program record with 64 assists in a four-set match.

ROAD WARRIORS
The Sooners will play their entire 2024 non-conference schedule away from the friendly confines of McCasland Field House. After this week’s trip to Omaha, the Sooners will remain in state for two games at the Tulsa Volleyball Invitational (Sept. 12-13). The non-conference schedule will conclude at the K-State Invitational on Sept. 20-22.

The Sooners opened the 2024 season on the road at the Ameritas Players Challenge in Lincoln, Nebraska, and are 1-1 to start the season.

LEAVING A TRACE
Just one week into the season, the Sooners broke multiple program records in the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi game on August 31. Kelli Jo Burgess He hit 1,000 homers with 11 for 11 strokes, recording his highest hitting percentage in a four-set match and in a match of any length. Jasmine Ellison She broke the record for most service aces in a single set, recording five aces. Payton Chamberlain and Leah Wilton-Laboy tied the assists record with 64 total in a four-set match against the Islanders.

HIT 1,000
On August 31st, Kelli Jo Burgess She became only the second player in Oklahoma history to have a perfect hitting percentage (at least 10 kills) in a match. Burgess was 11-of-11 on the day in the four-set match and became the first Sooner to achieve a perfect hitting percentage in a four-set match. Previously, Grace Whitley recorded an 11-of-11 performance in a three-set match in 2011.

STAR SHELTON
The young player missed the last two games of the 2023 season due to injury, Alexis Shelton picked up where she left off in the opening week by recording two 20-kill games. In her first match of the year, Shelton recorded 21 kills and added five digs. On August 31 against Teas A&M-Corpus Christi, Shelton recorded 25 kills at a . 500 clip and was just one dig away from a double-double with nine.

CLIMBING THE RECORD BOOKS
Libero with 30 digs in opening week Callie Kemohah She ranks in the top five in OU history for career digs. The senior needed just seven digs to pass two-time Big 12 Libero of the Year Keyton Kinley for fifth place and now has 1,331. Kemohah needs just 106 digs in her senior season to finish second all-time.

Senior Payton Chamberlain He cracked the top 10 with 82 assists in the opening week. Chamberlain, playing his first season at Wyoming, needed just three seasons as a Sooner to crack the top 10. The senior has 1,959 assists and needs 585 to move into ninth place.

STATISTICS & RANKINGS
After the first week, the Sooners are well represented in the SEC standings. OU leads with 2.75 blocks per set. OU also ranks third with 14.38 assists per set and fourth with a .281 hitting percentage and 15 kills per set.
Individually, KJ Burgess leads the conference in hitting percentage with a .722. Alexis Shelton She leads the league in kills per set with 5.75. Shelton also ranks ninth in hitting percentage (.387). Jasmine Ellison leading in service aces (0.75) and Lydia Martin He ranks number 1 in blocks per set with an average of 1.75. Payton Chamberlain ranks second with 11.71 assists per set and Callie Kemohah She ranks ninth with an average of 3.75 digs per set.

OPPOSITION

Drake: The Bulldogs are coming off an 0-3 weekend in the Bluejay Invitational with losses to Missouri, NC State and Creighton. Offensively, Macy Daufeldt leads the team with 42 kills, while Megan Witte is second with 24. Addison Beagle has 90 assists and Jada Wills has 57 digs in the opening week.

Omaha: The Mavericks are 0-3 entering the weekend, having dropped games against Houston, Wyoming and Washington State in the Omaha Invitational. McKenna Ruch and Kali Jurgensmeier lead the offense with 37 and 35 kills, respectively. Ivy Leuck recorded 70 assists and Julia Owens added 55 to open the season. Erica Fava leads in digs with 55.

LOOK AHEAD
The Sooners’ road trip continues as they stay in-state and travel to Tulsa for two games on September 12-13. OU will face Stephen F. Austin on September 12 at 4:00 PM CT and host Tulsa on September 13 at 6:30 PM CT.

FOLLOW SOONERS
For updates and more information about Oklahoma Volleyball, follow the Sooners on Twitter and Instagram (@OU_Volleyball) and like Oklahoma Volleyball on Facebook.