Kelsey Carrington’s hard work paid off last week.
Carrington is a senior at Oklahoma and has now played under two coaching staffs. The 6-foot-3 middle blocker scored a career-high 14 kills in the Sooners’ 3-1 loss to UCLA last Saturday.
Carrington credits her preparation and hard work from this offseason for her early success. She has played 38 matches throughout her career and has had 93 kills, 19 digs, and 119 total blocks.
“I’ve been working at it since the spring, and I had a lot of one-on-one time with the coaches,” Carrington said. “With it being a new coaching staff, I got to learn the new systems. I felt very prepared when the moment was going to come.”
Carrington started her career at OU in 2020, and she credits new head coach Aaron Mansfield’s dedication to fundamentals for her improvement.
“It’s definitely different coaching styles in terms of the fundamentals. We all feel very relaxed with this new coaching staff, and it gave us a new light. I think we all refound the love of the game again,” Carrington said.
One of Carrington’s favorite memories of her career at OU so far is playing against Texas last year at McCasland Field House and breaking the attendance record at 3,702.
Oklahoma (6-3) begins Big 12 play against No. 9 Texas (5-3) in a two-game slate on at 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday in Norman.
OU trails Texas in the matchup series 61-4 and has lost the last 18 meetings.
Carrington said she looks forward to the matchup.
“I’m excited. I know we have a well-rounded team. Our skills and system that we are bringing to the table can (give us an advantage),” Carrington said. “They are a tall team with a lot of athleticism. We just have to be on our A-game, and I think if we all just trust the coaching staff with what they want us to do. I think it’s going to be a really good match.”