Lady Sandite Volleyball falls to No. 3 Norman North, plays for third place at BA Tournament

After a 2-1 performance on day one of the Broken Arrow Tournament, the No. 19 ranked Charles Page High School volleyball team (4-9) found themselves in the Gold bracket on day two, taking on even tougher competition than the day before.

On Friday the girls defeated defending State Champs, No. 5 Edmond Memorial (3-2) and No. 11 Owasso (3-4), but fell to No. 9 Edmond North (9-3). In the first round Saturday they were pitted against State Runners-Up, No. 3 Norman North (11-1).

The first set served as a wakeup call for Norman North, who trailed for the majority of the game. Three-straight Timberwolf errors gave the Sandites the 5-3 lead, and they didn't relinquish it till the wolves went on an 8-0 run to make it 20-17. Sophomore Devree Youngblood scored back to back kills off Madison Burris assists to tie it at 20-20, but Norman won five of the next six rallies to finish 25-21.

The Sandites caught a mild case of lethargy and fell 25-10 in game two. Burris scored the first point on a tipped ball, but Norman won the next nine and Sand Springs never recovered.

The Sandites were back to their normal selves in set three, however, and once again led for the majority of the game. Ohio State-commit Gloria Mutiri scored a block and a kill en route to a 6-1 lead that the Sandites held till 13-13. Mutiri scored once for the lead, Norman retaliated with three straight, then Sand Springs won four straight soon after to make it 19-18. The game tied again at 19-19 and 20-20, but the Timberwolves ended on a strong note with five-straight victories.

Mutiri finished with six kills, three blocks, three digs, and two aces. Youngblood scored three kills, and Burris, Makenna Cypert, and Kenzie Bradshaw scored one apiece. Burris recorded eight assists while MaKenzie Ward and Bradshaw contributed one apiece. Ward also had an ace.

The Lady Sandites will play the loser of Edmond North vs. No. 16 Southmoore (3-4) at noon for third place. The tournament is being played at Neinhuis Park Community Center at 3201 North 9th Street in Broken Arrow. Seating is limited, so bring a lawn chair if you have one! Tournament matches sometimes start ahead of schedule so plan on arriving early. Concessions are available on site.