CPHS Volleyball: Sandites fall to Union at Regionals, end season 19-15

The Class 6A No. 18 ranked Charles Page High School volleyball team ended its season in a 3-1 loss to No. 13 Union (15-11) in the first round of the Regional playoffs Tuesday evening at Frank Herald Field House, and No. 4 Jenks (26-8) ended the Redskins’ season in the following round.

Sand Springs hasn’t won a playoff match since 2017, but they did steal a set this year after getting swept 3-0 in the two years prior. They also finished the season with a 19-15 record, their second-highest win total in program history. And they posted a winning record in back-to-back seasons for the first time in at least a decade, possibly ever.

After losing a pair of hard-fought sets the girls battled back with a dominant run in game three, and nearly forced a fifth. “I loved how much effort they gave,” said second-year Head Coach Derek Jackson. “They were definitely giving all they had. They were laughing and having a good time afterwards because they gave everything they had.”

The Sandites led by as much as 9-4 in the first set after aces from Jacelyn Smith, Olivia Dewitt, and Madison Blaylock, but Union wouldn’t be stymied for long and took the lead once and for all with a pair of kills from Tierney Jackson at 16-14. Union used a six-point streak to put the set firmly out of reach and coasted to the 25-20 win.

Sand Springs started hot again in game two and led by as much as 5-2 after an ace from Payton Robbins, but the Redskins scored five in a row for the 11-8 lead and never gave it up again. A kill from Layla Lenex cut it as close as 17-15, but Union scored six in a row and finished 25-17.

Then Union imploded. Robbins scored a block and a kill in a 4-0 start in set three. Union rallied to cut it as close as 6-5, but Sand Springs scored eight in a row with five aces from Robbins. Dewitt scored two more aces at 17-6, and Charley Fahland had an ace at 22-9. Lenex scored back-to-back kills for the 25-15 win.

“We served really tough in the third and fourth set to give us a chance,” said Jackson. “Several of them got serving really well for us, hit some spots, put pressure on them which allowed us to not get swung at so hard, so we could go attack a little bit.”

The fourth set was the most competitive. Sand Springs rallied from a 13-6 deficit to tie it at 20-20, and the teams traded punches till Union rattled off three in a row to win 25-22.

Lenex finished the match with a team-best ten kills, followed by Smith with nine and Robbins with six. Robbins also had a team-best five blocks and six aces. Tehya Johnson recorded 25 assists, and Madison Blaylock had 23 digs. Jackson had a match-best 16 kills, followed by Emily Ludwig with ten for the Redskins.

The Sandites will graduate only four players this year, compared to seven from last season. Only two saw substantial playing time, leaving behind a strong core unit to build from.

“Madison Blaylock was such a good leader for us in practices, and outside of volleyball she’s just a great person who really pushes the rest of the girls to be better in a lot of aspects. Sophie Singleton, Jentry (Hughes), and Madison Fowler were all good seniors that really set the pace.” Jackson also praised his underclassmen, both in terms of talent, and their competitive nature.

No. 1 Bishop Kelley (28-3), No. 2 Norman North (27-5), No. 3 Mustang (30-6), Jenks, No. 6 Deer Creek (21-6), No. 7 Edmond Santa Fe (22-7) and No. 9 Edmond North (18-12) all punched their tickets to the 6A State Tournament on Monday at Choctaw High School.

Union 3-1 (25-20, 25-17, 15-25, 25-22)
Kills: Union 54, CPHS 34.
Blocks: Union 5, CPHS 9.
Aces: Union 6, CPHS 14.
Errors: Union 27, CPHS 25.

(Sand Springs stats)
Kills: Lenex 10, Smith 9, Holland 6, Robbins 6, Johnson 2, Singleton 1.
Assists: Johnson 25, Fahland 2, Wright 2, Blaylock 1.
Solo Blocks: Robbins 2.
Assisted Blocks: Lenex 4, Singleton 3, Robbins 3, Smith 2, Holland 1, Tippit 1.
Digs: Blaylock 23, Dewitt 19, Robbins 12, Fahland 8, Johnson 4, Smith 4, Holland 3.
Aces: Robbins 6, Dewitt 4, Smith 2, Fahland 1, Blaylock 1.

(Union partial stats)
Kills: Jackson 16, Ludwig 10, Smith 9, Lapointe 7, Martin 6, Blackwell 6.
Assisted Blocks: Smith 4, Lapointe 2, Blackwell 2, Ludwig 1, Martin 1.
Aces: Ludwig 3, Fanelli 2, Jackson 1.