It was a good weekend for Sooner volleyball as the women’s team swept away the competition at the Doubletree Invitational, hosted by SU, in Dallas.
The Sooners entered the tournament ranked in the top 25 of the AVCA’s poll, this week, and improved to 3-1 by the end of the weekend. They began by playing Texas Southern and won the match in three straight sets to advance on to the next round. The Sooners hit .424 and held Texas Southern to an even .000. Junior outside hitter, Kierra Holst, led the Sooners with eight kills and was able to hit .533 with four digs and three assists to aces. Summer Cole, a redshirt-sophomore, made her first appearance of the season at the middle blocker position and finished second on the team, with six kills and a .857 attack rate.
The second match was played against Georgia Tech and the Sooners won with their second straight sweep of the weekend. This victory was the first ever for the Sooners between the two programs. Madison Ward tied the team with nine kills and also picked up nine digs. Three Sooners had seven kills and freshman middle blocker, Marion Hazelwood, led the time with a record high five blocks. For the entire match, the Sooners hit for .260 and held Georgia Tech .135 hits.
With this win, the Sooners advanced to the next round where they played the tournament host, SMU. The Sooners led the first two sets of the match by 25-16 and 25-15, but then fell to the Mustangs in their last match by 25-23. Four Sooners ended the match with double-digit kill totals and junior setter, Julia Doyle, matched her personal career-high of 53 assists and added eight digs and four blocks to help the Sooners beat the Mustangs.
The Sooners will be hosting their home opener on Wednesday, September 10, at McCasland Field House. This game begins the first of the four home matches in four days for Oklahoma, as they host the NIKE Invitational.