3 Sooner VB'ers-Make All Big-12 Teams-Wilson, Perkins, Shelton

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OUBeliever56A
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3 Sooner VB'ers-Make All Big-12 Teams-Wilson, Perkins, Shelton

Post by OUBeliever56A »

Three Oklahoma sooners were named to the All-Big 12 Teams for the 2022 season. All 3 Sooners are underclassmen which points to a strong future also for the Sooners.

Megan Wilson (#3 - SOPH) - Wilson was named to the team as an OPP/OH on the 1st Team for the Big 12. Wilson's all around game is a key to her selection. She is a force at the net, has a very strong serve and has added a back court game to her talents in 2022. She was very successful in surpassing her freshman year in 2021 with an even better year in 2022.

Wilson is one of two SOPH's on the 1st Team. There are 11 SRs or Red-SRs on the 1st Team. There is only one JR and 1 FR on the 1st Team. Texas and Baylor dominated the 1st Team with 6 and 4 players respectively.

Morgan Perkins (#21 - FRESH) - Perkins was named to the team as a MB on the 2nd Team for the Big 12. Perkins was a force in the middle of the net for the Sooners in her initial season as a Sooner. Her quick-hit sets and blocking game added greatly to the Sooners success. Perkins was also named to the All Rookie Team for the Big 12 as a Freshman.

Perkins was one of 3 true Freshman on the 2nd Team. Kansas led the 2nd Team selections with 4.

Alexis Shelton (#12 - FRESH) - Shelton was named as an OH to the All-Rookie Team for the Big 12. Shelton's high flying power hitting from the outside was very impressive at times. She also added a presence on the block on the left side of the Sooner defense at the net.

Shelton joins Perkins on the All Rookie Team and makes OU and Baylor as the two teams with two Freshman on the All Rookie Team. Only 6 players were named to the All Rookie Team.

Congrats to the 3 Sooners that earned all Big 12 Volleyball Honors in 2022.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the strong play of Taylor Preston, Callie Kemohah and Payton Chamberlain for the Sooners.

The 2022 season ended with Taylor Preston playing very well in the last two or three matches as she was playing OH, Serving and the back row on defense along with Wilson. To me it is a bit of an upset that she did not make the All Rookie Team.

Callie Kemohah has to be the most underrated or taken-for-granted player in the Big 12 Volleyball arena. She simply shows up every match and performs very well. She is the one that takes the lightning shots from attackers and some how softens the power to move the ball to the setter repeatedly. She dives for the ball with the pancake hand for digs and she serves well and often the on court coach that keeps things positive.

Payton Chamberlain became the Sooner Setter early in the season and brought a new level of sets to the Sooner offense, IMO. I like the way she plays defense on the initial attack and does not 'just set' the ball. Kemohah is quite capable of setting when Chamberlain does so. Chamberlain was effective as a blocker on the right side of the net and also became a valuable Server for the Sooners.

With these six Sooners returning for 2023, the Sooners should be improved with only two 'starting roles' to replace.
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Post by AustinTXSooner »

I thought we played much better this year than last. The recruiting class that came in was outstanding. Last year, Davison was one of our better players, but we recruited over her with Preston and Shelton. I agree that Preston should have made the all rookie team and that's without even looking to see who else made it. She was that good. We also recruited over Dunn. Chamberlain just came in and when given an opportunity, showed how much better she was. Oliver and Perkins kept Carrington off the floor. From around mid-season on, the lineup solidified and the only players from last year still playing significant time were Wilson, Kemohah, and Talpash.

We've got another accomplished outside hitter coming in next year in Correl-Blagojevich. And another middle blocker in Pffifner to provide competition with Carrington for replacing Oliver. Interesting to see who we might get in the transfer portal.

Over Thanksgiving, I had the privilege to watch two Nebraska matches with my potential daughter-in-law, who is a huge Nebraska volleyball fan. The first was the Nebraska-Wisconsin game (#5 and #3, I think). Nebraska sold-out their arena, which holds 8,000. I wish that I had written down their substitution pattern. They rotated setters so that they were always on the back row. So they used 2 Setters, 4 Outside Hitters, 2 Middle Blockers, 1 Libero, and 1 Defensive Specialist. I can't quite figure out how they did it. Their outside hitters are 6'2", 6'3", 6'4", and 6'5". Their middle blockers are 6'4" and 6'5". It seemed like blocks played a bigger part of the game. Our height is getting better, but outside of Wilson, I feel like we're playing smaller than the elite teams.

I also need to understand the substitution rules better.
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Post by OUBeliever56A »

I learned this information about volleyball recently based upon a comment by a commentator.

There are two "formations' or 'patterns' used today in D1 volleyball.

1) The 5-1 rotation pattern. This pattern uses one full time setter. This formation requires a setter that can fill a defensive role at the net for half of the rotations. This is what Oklahoma is doing with Chamberlain (and Dunn also last year). When the setter is on the front row, on offense the team needs to have at least one back row player that is a attacker for back row sets to have at least three options on offense. Two hitters on the back row is better for four offensive options. :OU is getting closer to the 4 options and almost always had 3 in the 2022 rotations.

2) The 6-2 rotation pattern. This pattern uses two setters to keep 3 hitters or attackers on the front row at all times. That was what Nebraska was playing, My wife is from Nebraska and we watch a bit of Big Red VB. This pattern does require more substitutions in a set however. A team is limited to 15 substitutions in a set. A Libero substitution does not count in this total. If a team reaches 15 substitutions, they must play with the 6 players on the court for the remaining points of the set. So that is the rub if they get that far onto the game.

Maybe that helps you a bit.

I thought that the Sooners might use Chamberlain and Dunn in a 6-2 pattern to keep hitters on the court early in the year. But with Wilson's ability to play the back row and now with Preston doing that as well, they have the players to keep 3 or 4 hitters on the floor at all times when Chamberlain on the front row.

I agree about Correl-Blagojevich and Pffifner adding depth next year. Correl-Blagojevich could be a full time player like Wilson and Preston. Carrington may need to come into camp next fall ready to play her best to earn quality playing time in 2023. With Correl-Blagojevich playing full time, only Kemohah (Libero) and maybe Kaminski (Def- Serve) could be the only subs for the Sooners.

I think it is a very good thing that Correl-Blagojevich is best friends with Ella Parker, a highly-recruited softball OU recruit for the Class of 2023 also.
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