Coming off the victory over the Texas A&M Aggies, the Wildcats will look to get another signature victory tonight as they take on No. 25 Oklahoma. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Ahearn Field House.
The two teams squared off Oct. 22 in Norman, Okla. The match was tied at a set apiece and even though the Wildcats were in a position to take a one set lead, the Sooners scored eight straight points after being down 22-17. The Sooners won the set 25-22.
The Wildcats were unable to recover from the loss as the Sooners went on to win the match in four sets.
The two teams enter the match separated by just a half game in the conference standings.
Oklahoma (19-7, 6-4) is on a two-match losing streak after consecutive losses to Iowa State and Missouri.
The Sooners are led by senior setter Brianne Barker. Barker has been the key to the Sooner offense throughout the season. She does a little bit of everything. Besides being the quarterback of the offense, she is also second on the team in digs. She is the type of player that can affect a match in many different ways, so it will be key for the Wildcats to try and limit her effect on the match.
After what was one of the biggest victories of the season, the Wildcats (16-9, 6-5) will have to give the same effort against the Sooners that they did against Texas A&M.
Sophomore Kaitlynn Pelger went down with an injury on the first play of the game against the Aggies, and it affected the team early as they went down in the first two sets.
The Wildcats were able to get back in the match, and in the fifth set completed the comeback against the Aggies.
It is unknown whether or not Pelger will be in the lineup against the Sooners, so other players will be counted upon to play as well as they did Saturday.
Courtney Traxson, sophomore, had a career game against the Aggies with 13 kills. If Pelger is unable to play, Traxson will more than likely take Pelger’s place in the match.
The Wildcats are still on the bubble for a selection into the NCAA tournament. The Wildcats are 0-3 against top 25 teams on the season. A win against the Sooners could go a long way in securing a tournament berth.
The game will be broadcasted on KMAN-AM 1350 by Rob Voelker and on KSDB-FM 91.9. It will also be on Fox Sports Kansas City as Brian Smoller will be providing play-by-play, accompanied by All-American Liz Wagner-Busch doing color commentary.