by LUBBOCK, Texas – Payton Chamberlain recorded her 1,000th assist of the season as the Oklahoma volleyball team dropped a five-set match to Texas Tech, 25-20, 20-25, 25-23, 19-25, 13-15, Wednesday afternoon.
Chamberlain, who reached the 2,000 career assist mark earlier this season needed 30 assists to reach 1,000 in 2023. The junior setter easily achieved the feat, ending her night by tying her career high with 57 assists to go with nine digs and four blocks.
Taylor Preston led the offense with 22 kills on the day, her fourth 20-plus kill performance of the season. Lydia Burts and Daleigh Ellison each added double-digit kills with 13 each. Kelsey Carrington chipped in 10 kills and three blocks.
Callie Kemohah recorded a season-best 29 digs on the day. Ireland McNees added 11 digs and five kills, while Sydney Thompson recorded 11 digs and four service aces.
A 4-0 scoring run gave OU its first lead of the set at 9-7. At the media timeout, the Sooners led 15-14 and pushed their lead to 18-15 out of the timeout. An ace from Kemohah gave OU its largest lead of the set at 23-19 and a kill from Preston secured the 25-20 victory.
The second set started with a back-and-forth battle and neither team establishing more than a one-point advantage. For the second set in a row, the Sooners led by one at the media timeout, 15-14. OU took a two-point lead at 20-18 before Tech used a 7-0 run to take the second set, 25-20.
The Sooners overcame an eight-point deficit in the third to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Down 18-10, the Sooners chipped away to close the gap at 20-17. The Sooners used an 8-3 run to close out the set, 25-23.
Tech took an 11-4 lead early in the fourth. OU climbed back to make it a five-point set at 16-11, but the Red Raiders took the set 25-19.
At the switch in the fifth set, the Sooners led 8-7 and pushed their lead to 12-9 to force a Tech timeout. Out of the timeout, Tech used a 4-0 run to take a 13-12 lead. OU fought off one match point but dropped the final set 15-13.
