by OMAHA, Neb.– The Oklahoma volleyball team swept the Drake Bulldogs 25-21, 25-22, 25-22, Friday night inside Baxter Arena in Omaha, Neb., in their opening match at the MH Hospitality Omaha Challenge. The Sooners improved to 2-1 on the season, while Drake dropped to 1-4 on the year.
Alexis Shelton led the offense, notching her first double-double of the season with 19 kills and 12 digs. The junior hit .357 on the night and added a pair of blocks.
Setter Leah Wilton-LaBoy notched a career-high 37 assists in her first start of the year. The junior recorded a double-double, adding 11 digs.
Defensively, the Sooners recorded 8.0 blocks, led by Kelli Jo Burgess who notched four. Libero Callie Kemohah tallied 17 digs, while adding five assists and two kills.
Oklahoma took the first set, 25-21, after a back-and-forth battle. The Sooners hit .357 in the opening frame and notched four service aces. Drake took its only lead of the match at 17-16, sparking a 5-0 run by the Sooners. The Bulldogs closed the gap at 24-21, but a kill from Shelton secured the first set for the Sooners.
A block from Geissberger and Burgess sealed a 25-22 second set victory. Drake raced out to an 8-4 lead, forcing an OU timeout. Out of the timeout, OU ended the run with a double block from Shelton and Martyn and used a 3-0 run to cut the deficit to 8-7. The Sooners took the lead at 13-12 off the arm of Daleigh Ellison and kept a narrow lead before Drake tied the frame at 19. With the teams tied at 21-21, the Sooners used a 4-1 run to take the 2-0 lead.OU jumped out to an early 9-2 lead in the third set, but the Bulldogs used a 12-5 run to tie the match at 14-14. The teams stayed locked in a tight battle, with neither side able to establish a clear lead. Back-to-back kills from Geissberger put OU up 22-21, and the graduate transfer sealed the match with her 10th kill of the night.
