by NORMAN – The Oklahoma volleyball team picked up its first sweep in SEC play, taking down Alabama 25-11, 25-20, 25-12, Wednesday night inside McCasland Field House.
The Sooners had one of their best defensive performances of the season, limiting the Crimson Tide to just 23 kills on a -.032 clip, while putting up 16.0 blocks.
“They do a really good job at challenging themselves in practice but also supporting one another,” head coach Aaron Mansfield said. “We have eight matches left and a lot of teams that we are playing that have really good RPIs that we feel like we could beat them so we are hoping to get a couple of more wins before the end of the year and make the NCAA tournament.”
Alexis Shelton led all players with 11 kills, her 21st-straight match with double-digit kills. The junior also added three digs and four blocks. Kari Geissberger notched an impressive .462 hitting percentage with eight kills and added a season-high eight blocks.
Payton Chamberlain recorded 29 assists to go with three digs and three blocks. Callie Kemohah notched 18 digs, while picking up three assists. From behind the service line, Sydney Thompson tallied three aces.
With Thompson behind the service line, the Sooners rattled off 11-straight points to open the first set. OU hit .364 with 10 kills as Geissberger led the way with five. The defense put up five blocks in the opening frame and recorded no service errors en route to a 25-11 victory.
In a set that saw nine ties and six lead changes, the Sooners prevailed with a 25-20 victory to go up 2-0 in the match. The teams stayed even up to 19-19, before a 6-1 run from the Sooners closed out the set.
It was all Oklahoma again in the third as the Sooners hit .385 with 13 kills as they secured the 25-12 victory. Thompson was behind the service line to start once again, leading OU to a quick 4-0 advantage. The Sooners used their defense once again to shut down the Alabama offense, notching 4.5 blocks in the set.
