Lady Sandite Volleyball places second at Coweta Tournament with 8-1 record

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (10-4) blew through the opening rounds of the Coweta Tournament this past weekend, defeating every team in the tournament during round-robin pool play, but fell to the host team in the Championship round.

On day one, the Lady Sandites won a pair of close games over 5A #9 Heritage Hall (6-10) with sets of 25-20 and 25-19. Junior Gloria Mutiri led in scoring with ten kills in the second game alone. In the second match they fended off 4A #8 Catoosa (8-6) who was looking to avenge a week one sweep at Sand Springs. The Lady Sandites won the first game 25-18, but lost the second 23-25 after rallying from a massive deficit of 21-12. The two teams battled closely in the deciding set but Sand Springs prevailed 15-9 thanks to fifteen kills from Mutiri and ten from sophomore Holly Kersgieter.

The girls got their first crack at the home team in match three and dominated the opening set 25-13. 5A #6 Coweta (8-4) turned the tables in game two with a 25-16 victory, but the Lady Sandites turned up the heat in set three to win it 15-10. They capped off the first day with a blowout victory over Edison Preparatory Academy (4-11) with sets of 25-6 and 25-12. Mutiri scored eleven kills in the melee, followed by freshman Devree Youngblood with seven kills, including two aces.

The Saturday opener was another blowout as Sand Springs trumped 5A #15 East Central (6-9) 25-12 and 25-14. Mutiri scored fifteen kills and Kersgieter added eight including four aces. 

5A #13 Tahlequah (3-7) brought the heat in the next round and gave the Lady Sandites a run for their money in both sets. The Sandites won 2-0 but both games went into extra points for final scores of 28-26 and 26-24. Mutiri scored an incredible twenty kills in the two games, with major help from MaKenzie Ward who registered seventeen assists.

Sand Springs played back-to-back games against 5A #8 Claremore (7-6) and won both 2-0. In the final round of pool play the Sandites breezed through the Zebras 25-10 and 25-12, but in the bracket semifinals the Zebras upped their game and competed hard for losses of 25-16 and 25-19. Youngblood led the scoring in the first match with seven kills and two aces. Mutiri and Kersgieter each added six kills and Kersgieter serving up three aces. In the second match Mutiri ran away with the scoring for fifteen kills followed by Kersgieter with six and Youngblood with five.

In the tournament finals the Sandites were rematched against Coweta who went 7-2 and avenged an opening-round loss to Heritage Hall in the semifinals. The Tigers rode their success from the last match into a 25-19 victory over the Sandites in the first set. In game two the two teams battled back and forth to a 9-9 tie before the Sandites exploded to a 25-16 finish.

The final set was neck-and-neck with neither team ever getting more than two points ahead till the very end. Kersgieter served up an ace for the first Sandite lead at 3-2 and Ward setup Mutiri for the 5-3 advantage. Coweta blocked a pair of Mutiri's signature spikes, but the standout scored a block of her own and added an ace soon-after to make it 10-8. Coweta reclaimed the lead off a consecutive touch call on the Sandites to make it 11-10, but Kersgieter got a kill off Youngblood to tie things up. Coweta went on a run from there with three straight kills. Madison Burris got in a kill, but Coweta retaliated on the next rally for the 15-12 win.

The Sandites have come a long way since last year when they finished the season 12-24 and went 4-4 at the Coweta Tournament. The girls will return to action Thursday at 4A #4 Victory Christian (7-3). The Sandites have fallen to the Conquerors in straight sets the past two years and look to end that streak.

Lady Sandite Volleyball goes undefeated in day one of Coweta Tournament

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

PHOTO GALLERY

The Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (6-3) won four straight matches Friday at the Coweta Tournament. Heritage Hall (1-9) fell 2-0 with sets of 25-20 and 25-19. Catoosa (1-4) fell 2-1 with sets of 25-19, 23-25, and 15-9. 

SEE RELATED: Sandite Volleyball tacks on two exciting wins at Coweta Tournament

The Sandites took on the home team in their third match of the day and defeated the Coweta Tigers 2-1 in an edge-of-your-seat thriller. The first game was hotly contested in the beginning, but the tide steadily turned in the Sandites' favor. 

Lee Leslie drew first blood with an assist from Madison Burris, then MaKenzie Ward set up kills for Leslie and Gloria Mutiri to make it 4-2. Coweta scored a pair of kills and profited from a Sandite error to take the lead back at 5-4, but Mutiri got in on four straight kills to put the Sandites on top once and for all. Sand Springs went on a run at the end of the game, winning six straight rallies for a 25-13 victory. 

The second game's outcome was nearly just as lopsided in Coweta's favor. The back-and-forth battle for the lead continued till Ward set up kills for Mutiri and Devree Youngblood to tie things up at 14-14. From there Coweta ran away with a long list of faults on the Sandites. Five straight errors and a handful of kills gave the Tigers the 25-16 win. 

In the final set the Sandites regained their footing and left Coweta behind after Mutiri nailed a pair of back-to-back kills for the 5-3 advantage. The Tigers grabbed one point on an error, but Mutiri and Holly Kersgieter added another pair of kills before giving up a point on a service error. Coweta handed up a fault of their own and Youngblood got back in on the action with a shot off Ward, then combined on a block with Kersgieter to double down 10-5. Leslie got back in the fray and Ward scored a solo shot. Youngblood and Leslie blocked a shot to make it 14-6 and the Sandites had plenty of wiggle room. Coweta won the next four rallies somewhat due to defensive indifference on the part of the Sandites, who already had the win in the bag, but ultimately Youngblood smacked a kill off Ward for the 15-10 win. 

Sand Springs breezed through their final match of the day in a 2-0 victory over Edison (2-6). 

Kersgieter scored back-to-back aces to start the match. Kylie Taylor scored a kill off a Mutiri assist, Youngblood took a solo shot, and an Eagle fault gave Sand Springs the 5-0 advantage. Edison picked up their first point on an error from Taylor, but the next seven rallies went to the Sandites. Sand Springs continued to pile on the points until Mutiri wrapped things up with an ace for the 25-6 win. 

In the second game it was Edison who started things off with an ace, but it didn't take the Sandites long to get back in the lead once and for all with an ace from Youngblood. Madison Ward got in the game and served up a pair of back-to-back aces and MaKenzie Ward scored three-straight aces soon-after. 

The Sandites gave up five errors from there before tightening back up. Youngblood made it 22-11 on an assist from MaKenzie Ward. Kersgieter served, dug the return and scored on the dig, then followed it up with an ace. She gave up one point with an error, but followed it up with a kill for the 25-12 win.

The Lady Sandites will return to action bright and early Saturday morning with a 10:00 a.m. match against East Central (5-6). The Cardinals went 1-3 on day one of the tournament with losses to Tahlequah, Claremore, and Catoosa, and a win over Edison. Immediately following that match the Sandites will take on Tahlequah (2-2). Tahlequah started their season Friday with wins over Edison and East Central, but lost to Claremore and Heritage Hall.

At 1:00 p.m. the Sandites will take on Claremore (5-3) in the final round of pool play. Claremore went 3-1 in day one of the tournament, defeating Edison, Tahlequah, and East Central, but lost to Coweta. 

All eight teams will compete in bracket competition. The Sandites have already earned their way into the gold bracket and if they can finish undefeated they'll play at 3:00 p.m. against the number four seed. The second and third-seeded teams will meet at 4:00 p.m. and the Championship match will be at 5:00 p.m.

Sandite Volleyball tacks on two exciting wins at Coweta Tournament

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (6-3) won their first two matches at the Coweta Volleyball Tournament Friday.

The girls started things off with a 2-0 win over last year’s 5A State Runners-Up from Heritage Hall (1-9) with sets of 25-20 and 25-19. The first game belonged to the Sandites hands-down, but the Chargers battled hard in the second set and the girls had to play from a deficit early-on.

After falling behind 7-2, the Sandites finally got back on track behind the hard-hitting combo of MaKenzie Ward and Gloria Mutiri. Mutiri scored five kills off Ward’s setups in the second game and finished the set with ten kills total.

The Sandites took the final lead of the game 13-12 on a consecutive contact and Mutiri scored an ace on the side-out. Sophomore Holly Kersgieter also added an ace in the game.

From there they got a rematch against Catoosa (1-4) whom they defeated in straight sets a week ago. This time the Indians battled neck-and-neck with the Sandites and gave them a run for their money.

Sand Springs worked up an early lead thanks to several faults and Mutiri scored the first kill with an assist from Madison Burris. Madison Chalupa and Shannon May scored several kills for the Indians, but Mutiri served back-to-back aces to make it 14-7.

The Sandites had Catoosa more than doubled at 20-9 before Chalupa added another kill and a series of errors closed the gap to 20-13. Catoosa handed two points back on faults and Devree Youngblood scored an ace to make it 22-14, but the Indians kept on fighting with back-to-back aces from Chalupa.

Makenna Cypert set up Mutiri for a kill and Ward served an ace before Catoosa got the side-out on a service error, but quickly gave up the win with a block from Cypert.

In game two the Sandites emerged to an early lead thanks to three-straight kills from Kersgieter, including an ace. Youngblood added a solo shot to make it 6-3 before Chalupa broke the streak up. The next seven rallies were decided by errors before Catoosa added a pair of kills. Another error-streak gave Catoosa the 21-12 advantage and it looked like the underdogs would put the game in the bag.

Ward set up Kersgieter for a kill to get the Sandites back in the game and Kylie Taylor added an ace on the side out. The next four rallies were decided by error before the Sandites went on a killing spree behind Kersgieter, Taylor, and Mutiri. The Sandites battled back to a close 22-24 and dug out of six hard spikes before Taylor won the rally to make it 23-24. But Catoosa found the final point and forced a third game.

In the final set the Sandites took the lead to start with an error and an ace from Kersgieter, but committed a pair of faults to tie it back up. A kill from Paige Hardman gave Catoosa a brief lead, but a consecutive contact gave it right back. Ward set up Mutiri for back-to-back kills, Baylee Mudd hit an ace, and Mutiri scored a kill off a dig from Kersgeiter to make it 7-4. 

Catoosa tied things back up at 8-8 with an ace from Melissa Velazquez. The Ward-Mutiri combo reclaimed the lead, then Catoosa took it right back on a Sandite error. Finally the Sandites emerged to a definitive advantage off another Ward-Mutiri kill. A pair of errors pushed the lead to 12-9. Ward put up a shot for Kersgeiter, Youngblood scored on a block, and Mutiri sent in an ace to secure the win.

Lady Sandite Volleyball heads to Coweta Tournament this weekend

Photo:\\MORGAN MILLER

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (2-3) will compete in their first tournament this weekend. The Lady Sandites will travel to Coweta High School Friday morning for an eight team competition beginning at 9:00 a.m.

The Sandites started the season with back-to-back wins over opponents who dominated them in years past. The Muskogee Roughers (1-2) fell 3-1 to the Sandites in the season opener and next to go down were the Catoosa Indians (1-2). The Lady Indians were Regional Champions last year, but fell in straight sets to Sand Springs.

The ladies gave the defending 5A State Champions from Bishop Kelley a run for their money before falling 3-2 Monday night. Tuesday they were defeated 3-0 by the 6A State Runners-Up from Jenks (7-2) and Thursday they fell in sets of 22-25, 16-25, and 21-25 to Ponca City (5-4).

The girls will look to get back in the win column Friday when they take on yet another State Finalist in 5A Heritage Hall (0-4). At 11:00 a.m. Catoosa will get a rematch, at 1:00 p.m. the Sandites will play Coweta (1-1), and at 3:00 p.m. they will take on the Edison Eagles (2-3). 

On Saturday the Sandites will return to action with a 10:00 a.m. match against East Central (4-3) followed immediately by an 11:00 a.m. match against Tahlequah (0-0) and a 1:00 p.m. match against Claremore (2-2).

After pool play concludes, all eight teams will compete in the bracket competition. There will be two brackets, each beginning at 3:00 p.m. The second round will be played at 4:00 p.m. and the championship match will be played at 5:00 p.m. Each match will be decided by the best two out of three sets with the first two sets capped at 30 points and the third set played to 15 points with no cap.